EL PASO, Texas — A new video from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is sparking controversy in airports across the country, including in El Paso.

The message, featuring DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, blames “Democrats in Congress” for the ongoing government shutdown. While numerous airports, including those in Dallas and San Antonio, chose not to play the video, El Paso International Airport is showing it at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints.

“Democrats in Congress refused to fund the federal government,” Noem says in the video, which continues by explaining that many TSA employees are working without pay.

City officials in El Paso say they never approved the video and disagree with its political tone.

“This is very clearly a political video,” said City Council member Chris Canales, who believes government messages at public facilities should remain neutral.

“We want the airport to be a neutral space for everybody to enjoy, free of that kind of political messaging,” Canales said. “That’s just not something the city chooses to share on their screens at the airport.”

According to Canales, TSA set up its own monitors to display the video, bypassing the city’s control over airport screens.

“The federal government controls a portion of the airport… and so it was very important to them, I guess, to play this video,” he said. “They brought in their own screens; you can see wires and hanging electrical cords.”

Canales argues the move could violate the “Hatch Act,” a federal law dating back to 1939 that prohibits government employees from using public resources for partisan political activity.

“It prohibits federal employees from using government time or resources to share political messages, to promote a particular partisan or political ideology,” he said.

While El Paso continues to display the DHS video, other cities’ airports have taken a different stance, declining to play it to maintain neutrality.

“I think cities are making the right decision,” Canales said. “The airport should be a space where people can travel without being subjected to this kind of political messaging.”Luis