DHS standoff disrupts services

TSA testified that more than 61,000 agency employees are currently deemed “essential” and that roughly 50,000 frontline Transportation Security Officers have been working without pay, with unpaid payroll approaching nearly $1 billion in missed checks. (tsa.gov) The agency told Congress that about 460 officers have resigned since the funding lapse began and that nationwide daily call‑out rates have roughly doubled to around 11%, with some individual airports reporting absentee spikes above 30%. (tsa.gov) Burlington International Airport has remained open during the funding conflict and has collected more than 200 pounds of donated food for unpaid TSA staff while private partners such as Beta Technologies have been providing daily meals. (mynbc5.com) Vermont resettlement groups were previously hit by a federal stop‑work order on Jan. 27, 2025 that suspended Reception and Placement funding and left at least 59 newly arriving refugees in limbo, a disruption that local agencies described as cutting roughly 90% of some organizations’ operating budgets. (vtdigger.org) State budgeting responses include a FY2026 request and legislative record showing a $900,000 line in the Vermont base budget earmarked for the State Refugee Office to support transitional housing for refugees. (legislature.vermont.gov) Regional advocacy and rapid‑response networks have stepped up: the Upper Valley Rapid Response Network is coordinating alerts and volunteer support amid increased ICE activity, and Vermont Asylum Assistance Project leaders have reported heightened fear and service demand among immigrant communities. (vnews.com) On timing, the Senate approved a plan to fund most of DHS by voice vote on March 26, the House moved a separate stopgap on March 27, and the president signed an executive order the same day to authorize emergency pay for TSA employees as emergency payroll distributions began to be released the following weekend. (politico.com)