Imagine that you lived in a country that every day had to stay vigilante because of the risk of terrorist attacksphysical or of the cyber variety. Or that has faced blizzards of historic proportions, with another winter storm on the way. And imagine if the people you were depending on to help you were expected to turn up for work, but that they may or may not be getting paid.
Well, thanks to a completely avoidable standoff in Congress, you might not have to imagine at all.
February 28 marks the date when money for the Department of Homeland Security runs out as House Republicans hold the DHS’s funding hostage to make an ideological point. They say they are unhappy with President Barack Obama’s executive orders rescinding deportation for a class of undocumented immigrants known as the Dreamers, among others. As a result, unless a deal is reached, more than 200,000 employees will be required to show up to work next Monday without pay.
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