Washington — The Department of Homeland Security has ordered thousands of furloughed employees back to work, according to internal emails obtained by CBS News, even as most of the agency technically remains shut down and unfunded by Congress. 

The directive, which was issued to employees at DHS agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, marks a significant shift in how the administration is managing the funding lapse, effectively blurring long-standing distinctions between furloughed employees and those who remain on the job during a government shutdown.

"All DHS employees … are being returned to a work and paid status," DHS Chief Human Capital Officer La' Toya Prieur wrote in an April 10 notice to staff, adding that employees are to report "on your next regularly scheduled duty day."

A separate internal message to FEMA personnel states more bluntly: "All FEMA employees will be placed in exempt status and are expected to report in person to their normal duty station."

Historically, during lapses in federal funding, only "excepted" employees — those deemed necessary for the protection of life and property — continue working, usually without pay. Non-excepted workers are typically furloughed and barred from performing their duties. 

DHS' move upends that framework. Under the new guidance, the department said it has determined that employees' roles "advance the purpose of available appropriations," which allows them to resume "normal duties" despite the funding gap.

DHS acknowledged in its notice to employees that it is relying on limited funding streams. "DHS is using available funds to ensure employees are paid," the notice stated, saying that a new status update will be issued if those funds run out.

Paying DHS employees

The directive comes on the heels of a presidential memorandum issued April 3 that directed the department to find a way to provide back pay for DHS workers since the start of the shutdown, which began on Feb. 14. More than 35,000 DHS employees began receiving paychecks last Friday, the first time they had been paid in weeks.

As CBS News first reported last week, newly confirmed DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that most department employees would see money covering recent missed pay periods in their accounts by Monday.

"The majority of everybody will be paid by then," Mullin told CBS News while on his first official visit as DHS secretary in Chimney Rock, North Carolina.

But the secretary warned that future checks for DHS employees — outside of law enforcement officials — would depend entirely on lawmakers. 

"Going forward, we've got to wait on Congress. This was kind of a rifle shot," he said, noting the high cost of covering DHS' payroll every two weeks. The department told employees this week that they would not be paid again until the congressional impasse over funding the agency ends. 

The timeline for a resolution on Capitol Hill is unclear. The Senate struck a deal last month to fund DHS with the exception of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. House Republicans initially balked at the plan, but GOP leaders and the president have since coalesced around a strategy that would fund DHS through the normal appropriations process while funding ICE and CBP through budget reconciliation, which would not require Democratic votes. 

Some House Republicans have said they won't support the broader DHS funding bill until progress is made on passing the reconciliation package. President Trump has stated he wants a reconciliation bill on his desk by June 1.

Legal and operational questions

Recalling thousands of furloughed staffers to work despite the ongoing shutdown raises immediate legal and budgetary questions, particularly around the Antideficiency Act, which restricts federal agencies from obligating funds that are not appropriated by Congress.

By issuing the return-to-work notice, the Trump administration appears to be invoking emergency authorities or reinterpreting what qualifies as "excepted" work, expanding it to cover a broad category of homeland security operations. 

The administration has framed the move as necessary to maintain national security and disaster readiness. 

Emails obtained by CBS News reference the president's order "directing the immediate payment and recall of all furloughed Department of Homeland Security employees."

For DHS employees, the recall brings a return to normalcy but also uncertainty.

While the department promised to pay workers using "available funds," it cautioned that those funds may be temporary. "Should the Department exhaust currently available funds… you will receive a new notification of your work status," the email stated.

Employees were also warned that failure to report could result in discipline: "Failure to report for duty as directed… may result in administrative or disciplinary action."

Implications for disaster response

For FEMA, the change could have immediate operational benefits — at least in the short term.

With hurricane season approaching and spring flooding already underway in parts of the country, bringing back the full workforce allows the agency to resume some level of planning, training and logistical coordination that would otherwise stall during a shutdown.

However, the constraints remain significant. Recalled employees are barred from overtime, a key tool during disaster response, and must limit their work to "excepted" functions. 

Additionally, while disaster response and recovery can continue through a shutdown, the money within the Disaster Relief Fund is running low as the shutdown drags on. The stalled DHS appropriations bill would replenish the fund with more than $26 billion.