The Department of Homeland Security has ordered Atlanta TSA workers to return gift cards donated to them by billionaire filmmaker Tyler Perry.
“TSA officers are prohibited from accepting gifts at screening locations. Even during a shutdown, cash or cash equivalents cannot be accepted on behalf of the agency,” a DHS spokesperson told the New York Post Monday.
Perry initially attempted to give Transportation Security Administration workers at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport monetary donations earlier in the month amid the DHS shutdown, according to Georgia news outlet 11Alive. However, Perry was informed at the time that federal regulations prevented TSA workers from accepting monetary gifts or donations. Atlanta is the home of Perry Studios’ 330-acre lot owned and operated by the filmmaker.
After chatting with TSA workers and searching for alternatives, Perry returned to the airport with gift cards amounting to $1000 each as a replacement for straight monetary donations. Some airports such as the Denver International Airport have advertised gift card donations as an acceptable alternative to assist airport employees amid the devastating effects of the shutdown.
“Join DEN and our airline partners in supporting the dedicated TSA employees working without pay by donating $10 and $20 grocery store and gas gift cards,” Denver International Airport shared on its Facebook page on March 11. “Visa gift cards cannot be accepted.”
Perry’s donations aimed to stave off the funding freeze that has faced TSA workers who have gone without pay amid the DHS shutdown, with lengthy airport waits reported nationwide. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday seeking to pay TSA workers (and backpay them for missed payments during the partial shutdown), with some workers reporting payment as of Monday.
In their statement to the New York Post, the DHS spokesperson kept with the Trump administration’s messaging, placing the blame of the shutdown at the feet of the Democrats, who have attempted to pass measures that would pay TSA workers and other members of DHS without funding ICE and border patrol.
“The effects of the Democrats’ Reckless DHS shutdown are hitting frontline officers hard—some are sleeping in their cars, selling blood to make ends meet and struggling to pay rent. Democrats must re-open DHS now,” the spokesperson said.
