I am an employee of the federal prison system, and I have written an open letter to President Trump on the shutdown. I am furloughed but still report to work as usual as a primary federal law enforcement officer.

Dear Mr. President, No sir, we are not. Political ideologies aside, not one federal employee I work with or have spoken to about this is excited to miss out on their paychecks because they prioritize funding the wall over all other issues. That statement is patently incorrect and, more to the point, stingingly offensive, especially to the tens of thousands of Veterans who work at many of the law enforcement agencies being affected by this shutdown, including the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Shutting down a quarter of the government hurts these Veterans as much as it hurts working families and those who choose to show their patriotism and serve their country through the noble calling of public service. My husband and I are more fortunate than most, and with the unequivocal support of family and friends, we can weather this (hopefully) temporary storm. But I work with real people—who have real debts; real, growing children; real stay-at-home partners; and real medical bills—who do not know exactly what they and their families will do when next weekend comes and that paycheck hasn’t been deposited. These are not hypothetical people or theoretical conundrums; this is real life, sir. So, no, Mr. President. None of us—blue, red, or purple—gleefully sacrifices our financial security because of a political debate between you and other politicians in Washington. We love this country and prove it daily by showing up to work, even when we’re not getting paid. Build the wall or don’t…but don’t for a second think I or hundreds of thousands of my fellow federal colleagues view this shutdown as anything other than another poorly planned game of chess in which we, once again, find ourselves as unwilling pawns.

Open the doors, Mr. President. We’re all ready to work.

Respectfully,

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