MAJOR U.S. AIRPORTS — The Department of Homeland Security began issuing back pay deposits to Transportation Security Administration officers on Monday to cover wages missed during the partial government shutdown, with most workers expected to be paid by close of business Tuesday. The payments followed an executive order signed by President Trump directing DHS to pay TSA workers during the shutdown.

According to DHS officials, some TSA workers began receiving paycheck deposits as early as Monday, while others were expected to receive deposits on Tuesday. The department aimed to have most workers paid by the end of the day Tuesday, with an outside deadline of Wednesday, April 1. DHS transmitted payments on the same schedule for all TSA workers, and the staggered timing of deposits reflected banking practices rather than differences in payroll processing.

A notice sent to TSA workers indicated they received pay for 160 hours covering the period from February 22 to March 21. Workers have not yet received pay for February 14 to February 21, and it remained unclear whether they had been paid for overtime hours worked during the shutdown.

The partial DHS shutdown left roughly 50,000 TSA officers working without pay. The financial strain during the shutdown forced more than 510 TSA officers to quit. The nationwide TSA officer absence rate was 10.6% on Sunday, with 3,101 officers absent, after peaking at 12.4% on March 27.

Several airports reported far higher absence rates. Baltimore/Washington International Airport reported a 38.5% absence rate. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston reported 36.4%, while William P. Hobby Airport in Houston reported 34.1%. Airports in New Orleans and Atlanta each reported rates above 33%. John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Philadelphia International Airport each reported rates near or above 20%.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were sent to assist TSA at Baltimore/Washington International and other airports over the weekend. All checkpoints at Baltimore/Washington International were open on Monday. TSA security line wait times at major airports appeared to stabilize on Monday, though security lines remained slowed by a shortage of officers.

Pasqual Contreras, a TSA officer and union official, ran out of gas money last week to make the two-hour round-trip commute to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. After receiving his back pay deposit, Contreras refueled his car and expected to return to his checkpoint the next day. "It pays the rent. It pays March, but as we can all see, we're in April already," Contreras said.

Tens of thousands of other DHS workers, including Coast Guard, FEMA and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency employees, continued to work without pay. Congress did not reach an agreement to fund DHS before lawmakers left town on Friday for a two-week recess.