Facing eviction, mounting bills, and with no paycheck in sight, a desperate Transportation Security Administration worker based at an airport in upstate New York sent an SOS to the two senators who represent his state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI basically asked them for help,\u201d Anthony Riley, a 58-year-old married father of three, told NBC News on Wednesday. \u201cThis is the fourth week I\u2019m working without pay and it\u2019s killing me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Riley, who has worked for three-and-a-half years at Syracuse Hancock International Airport, said he understands that his job requires him to show up whether or not he gets paid. And he has been, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt the same time, a lot of TSA workers like me don\u2019t have savings to fall back on,\u201d he said. \u201cRight now, I don\u2019t have any money to move. I might be working homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even more concerning, Riley said he lost his car during the first government shutdown last year because he couldn\u2019t afford to replace the transmission. He said his 39-year-old wife, Keya, is waiting for a kidney donation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have a way of getting her down to Rochester if a kidney becomes available,\u201d said Riley, who lives in Syracuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Riley is not alone in his desperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 300 fed-up TSA workers have quit since the start of the Department of Homeland Security shutdown last month and the number of unscheduled call-outs has more than doubled at many key airports across the country, a senior TSA official confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most TSA workers are considered essential workers and are required to show up even when they’re not being paid. They received a half-paycheck two weeks ago but have already missed one entire paycheck since then, a TSA union official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DHS funding expired Feb. 13 after lawmakers locked horns over the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts, much of which has been enforced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democrats, angered by the killing of two Americans in Minneapolis by federal agents, are seeking reforms to rein in those agencies before they approve funding. But Republicans and the White House have insisted that changes have already been made in response to the killings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The impasse has triggered the partial shutdown of the department, which also affects the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Coast Guard. The shutdown does not affect ICE or the administration’s other immigration enforcement operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The effects on the shutdown on the TSA led to long security lines over the weekend, with travelers at many major airports reporting up to three-hour wait times on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Lauren Bis said travelers are facing missed flights and massive delays. She blamed the chaos on congressional Democrats\u2019 refusal to fund DHS, which led to the partial shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese political stunts force patriotic TSA officers, who protect our skies from serious threats, to work without pay,\u201d she said in a statement Sunday. \u201cThese frontline heroes received only partial paychecks earlier this month and now face their first full missed paycheck, leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Riley said he\u2019s a Democrat, like both New York senators, and that he supports reforming ICE. He said he was horrified by the violence that accompanied the ICE roundups of undocumented immigrants in Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut time is ticking and I\u2019m not sure how much longer I can hold out,\u201d he said. \u201cMy son is 18 and my twin daughters are 16. They don\u2019t want to move. I understand that the landlord needs to get paid, but I just don\u2019t have it right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Riley said he previously had an internship at one of Schumer\u2019s regional offices and one of his former colleagues got back to him quickly and recommended that he look into low or no-interest \u201cfurlough loans\u201d to tide him over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe problem is that my credit rating was wrecked by the last government shutdown when I was working and not getting paid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adrian Lesser, a spokesperson for New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, said they too have heard from Riley and \u201cwe referred him to local legal services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs always, our office is here to help government workers impacted by the partial shutdown, and we encourage them to reach out to our office,\u201d Lesser said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Riley said he had an eviction hearing on Monday and with the help of a Legal Aid lawyer, he was able to buy himself some more time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe go back on March 27 and hopefully we\u2019ll be able to work out a rent payment plan,\u201d he said. \u201cBut my lawyer told us to be prepared to leave in 30 days if it doesn\u2019t work out. Right now I\u2019m doing everything I can to keep my family from being kicked out on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n