Department of Homeland Security workers protect Americans, but many are not getting paid because of the partial government shutdown.

One DHS federal law enforcement officer spoke to NY1 anonymously.

"I belong to a sector in the federal government which is armed, which carries out investigations into crimes. Everything from terrorism to narcotics. I have to continue working," the worker said.

The worker is one of 800,000 employees affected by the shutdown.

Essential personnel like this worker are being directed to work and told they will be paid when the shutdown ends. Others have been laid off and won't get back pay when the government fully reopens.

"Some people may be single, some people may have a family of five or six. Some people may have just bought a house two or three months ago. Some people may be renting. And as we know, the cost of living in New York is not necessarily kind to a person that might not be getting a paycheck," the worker said.

This worker is fortunate to have saved for a rainy day. But federal law enforcement jobs can require national and international travel. That means additional job expenses, but no quick reimbursement.

"A governmental expense could be a rental car, it could be a hotel stay, it could be a meal. But if you add those up over the period of a month or a billing cycle, it could be anywhere from $500 to as high as $6,000 or $7,000," the worker continued.

When asked if the worker could get that money right now, the worker said, "No, you will not get that until this shutdown ends."

President Trump says he wants $5 billion for his border wall before ending the shutdown.

At Newark Liberty International Airport, Democratic leaders said the president is unnecessarily hurting federal workers.   

"Like TSA workers and Traffic Controllers and Customs Inspectors who may not get paychecks this Friday despite fulfilling their duty to keep air traffic safe for every passenger," said Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey.

"Some who right now are trying to figure out how they are going to pay rent, how they are going to make pay mortgages, how they are going to keep college payments going," said Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Although affected by the shutdown, this worker says Trump should get the border wall funding.

"That is what he ran on. That is what the people loudly said they want when it happened. Ultimately, we owe it to the people what they want," the homeland security worker said.

When asked if the person hopes they would get their paycheck this weekend, the worker said, "Who doesn't? Of course you want to. I would love to. It would make things a lot easier."