ICE agents can make twice the salary of TSA employees—and economists warn their pay is more ‘shutdown proof’ than other government jobs

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are now doing the jobs of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers, but one big difference is that they’re getting paid for it.

The partial government shutdown, entering its 44th day, has left more than 50,000 TSA officers without pay, leading to more than 450 workers quitting and thousands calling out of work, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data. President Donald Trump ordered ICE agents to U.S. airports to guard exits and check IDs to allow TSA agents to more quickly conduct security scans at checkpoints. Trump said ICE personnel can conduct immigration checks and arrests, though it’s not their primary purpose.

These ICE agents will continue to receive pay, even as TSA officers forgo earnings for five weeks, and the disparity has shined light on the pay differences between the two groups carrying out similar tasks. 

According to TSA Career, a nongovernment website, the starting salary for TSA agents is $34,454, with the average officer salary between $46,000 to $55,000. The highest-paid TSA employee earns around $163,000.

Meanwhile, deportation officers are paid between $51,632 and $84,277, according to a Read Entire Article