The Department of Homeland Security is giving $10,000 bonuses to transportation security officers who demonstrated “exemplary service” through the government shutdown.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the bonuses during a press conference in Houston, Texas, today. She highlighted the “tens of thousands of individuals who stepped up and continued to serve” at the Transportation Security Administration despite receiving no pay through the 43-day shutdown.

Asked whether she was referring to those who did not call out sick or stay home, Noem said, “that’s not necessarily the parameters.”

“We’re going to look at every individual that did exceptional service during this period of time when there were so many hardships,” Noem said.

DHS did not immediately respond to questions about who qualifies for the bonuses. TSA employs approximately 50,000 transportation security officers, meaning a bonus for every officer would cost roughly $500 million.

In a press release, DHS said it’s paying for the bonuses using carryover funds from fiscal 2025.

Disruptions to air travel began to grow in the final weeks of the shutdown. Security lines began to grow longer as some TSA officers called out. Meanwhile, flight delays and cancellations grew as air traffic controllers at the Federal Aviation Administration began calling out of work amid multiple missed paychecks.

Noem’s announcement comes after a Truth Social post by President Donald Trump earlier this week, in which he raged at air traffic controllers who took time off during the shutdown. Trump also announced $10,000 bonuses for controllers who “didn’t take any time off for the ‘Democrat Shutdown Hoax.’”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he agreed with Trump’s idea for a $10,000 bonus for air traffic controllers who had no missed days of work. But Duffy also offered a reprieve for some employees who missed days during the shutdown.

“We have some controllers who were put in a very difficult position,” Duffy told a Wisconsin TV station on Tuesday. “They’re young. They don’t make a lot of money when they first start out. They can make some good money later in their careers, but when they start out, they’re not making a lot. They may be the sole source of income, and they were confronted with a real problem.

However, Duffy also vowed to target “continual bad actors” during the shutdown.

“If they started to take time off because the shutdown was an excuse for them, we’ll take a look at those people, and we’ll work with the union and see what an appropriate response from the FAA will be,” he said.

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Democrats in Congress are pressing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to restore oversight staff who were furloughed at the start of the government shutdown.

In a Nov. 6 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the lawmakers said that staff at the Office of Detention Oversight are crucial to ensuring safety at ICE detention centers. Staff at ODO were furloughed at the outset of the shutdown.

“Without ODO staff actively performing these duties, there is a heightened risk that detention facilities fail to meet required standards, compromising detainee safety, access to medical care, and legal protections,” the lawmakers wrote to Noem.

The lawmakers also point out that the Department of Homeland Security’s shutdown contingency plan includes exceptions for the safety of human life and protection of property.

“This is not hypothetical – ICE has publicly reported that at least twenty people have died in its custody since January,” they added.

The letter points to reports of overcrowding and other unsafe conditions at ICE detention facilities, as immigration enforcement operations have continued through the shutdown.

“Given these developments, we are deeply concerned about the health and safety of detainees and staff at ICE facilities during the ongoing lapse in appropriations,” the letter states. “The decision to furlough the entire ODO is a clear attempt to sabotage oversight into the conditions of ICE facilities and the wellbeing of detainees.”

The letter was led by Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) and also signed by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.).

In a separate Oct. 31 letter to Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) pointed out that ICE furloughed ODO staff despite receiving an influx of funding under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“I recognize that certain nonessential functions must pause during a lapse in appropriations,” Dexter wrote. “However, a lack of funding cannot be used as justification to strip away any measure of accountability. To safeguard the health, safety, and dignity of my constituents, I urge you to reinstate necessary staff for the Office of Detention Oversight, immediately restore communication channels between ICE and congressional offices, and ensure Members of Congress have access to all ICE facilities.”

In an Oct. 17 letter, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) said DHS furloughing ODO employees while retaining all press and communications staffers raises “serious questions about the department’s priorities during this shutdown.”

“ODO’s inspectors are responsible for ensuring that facilities meet federal health, safety, and humane treatment standards,” Krishnamoorthi wrote. “With detention levels now among the highest in more than a decade, suspending this critical oversight function while enforcement operations proceed uninterrupted is indefensible and represents a profound failure of priorities.”

The ODO furloughs come as the number of ICE detainees reach record high levels. As of Sept. 21, there were nearly 60,000 people in ICE custody.

ODO was created in 2009 to inspect ICE detention facilities. The office conducts a separate set of inspections independent from inspections run by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations’ Custody Management Division.

The furloughs at ODO come after DHS also fired most staff at several oversight offices earlier this year.

The reductions-in-force at those offices – the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman – are now at issue in an ongoing lawsuit.

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