The Trump administration has promised tens of thousands of federal agents carrying out his immigration crackdown that they will be paid during the government shutdown, according to emails seen by Reuters, even as other federal workers go without pay.

The pay plan was communicated to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staff on Wednesday in separate internal emails seen by Reuters.

After the story was reported, Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said in a statement that more than 70,000 law enforcement officers across DHS including those at CBP, Ice, the Secret Service and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will be paid.

They are to receive by 22 October a “supercheck” covering pay for all hours worked during the shutdown period and the next pay period, she said.