Correctional officers like Nathaniel Weber have to show up for work despite not getting paid during the federal government shutdown.
"The prison still has to run, we have to keep the convicted criminals inside the fence to protect the public," he said.
Weber works at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, and has been with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for six years. It's not his first shutdown, but it is the longest. He's a single father of an 11-year-old girl.
"Still have to pay child support, insurance, medical bills. All that stuff. Still have time with her. Then we want to go do things. We still want to have money to go and have fun and enjoy our time together," Weber said.
Weber is one of more than 16,000 Federal Bureau of Prison corrections officers affected by the shutdown.
It's a shutdown that is hurting the bottom line for many.
"We have a lot of junior officers that still don't make enough to put away a savings. So they're the ones that suffer the most," Weber said.
Another officer, Travis Ray echoed that point.
"Once that paycheck misses and people don't have that money they're counting on. That's gonna hurt the most," Ray said.
Travis Ray has been at FCI Sheridan for nine years. It's a job that poses many dangers. He's used to those dangers and expects them, but they normally come with the paycheck.
"Now, I get to look forward to coming to work, possibly being assaulted and not being paid for it. We might be paid eventually, but it's not a guarantee," Ray said.
While the government is shut down, most workers will remain unpaid.
President Trump says he's not backing down from his desire to build a border wall.
"As long as it takes, I mean look, I'm prepared. I think the people of the country think I'm right," Trump said.
Weber said that stance is frustrating.
"I feel that the livelihood of any American, but the livelihood of federal government workers and those that put their lives at risk every day to protect the public should never be used as a political bargaining chip. We're not leverage for a partisan issue."
