NEW YORK, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- If the federal government shuts down Friday, U.S. border crossings will stay open and border agents will keep working through the holidays -- without pay, at least temporarily.

"Nearly three-quarters of Homeland Security personnel are considered essential and would keep working, even if Congress fails to strike a compromise to pay the government's bills," noted USA Today.

Along the U.S. northern and southern borders, roughly 19,000 Border Patrol agents will be required to show up for work. The majority of agents patrol the vast U.S.-Mexico border region, staffing field stations, interior checkpoints and temporary holding facilities, as they work to intercept smugglers and migrants who cross illegally.

Another 25,000 U.S. customs officers would be required to work at some 300 land and airports of entry. At land ports like the ones in El Paso, Texas, officers process the tens of thousands of residents, workers and students who cross each day, as well as billions of dollars in trade, said the report.

Lawmakers on Thursday rejected a deal backed by President-elect Donald Trump to fund swaths of the U.S. government, upping the risk of a partial shutdown heading into the holiday season. Enditem

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