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A senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee said Thursday he believes that coordination problems between two Homeland Security Department agencies that deal with customs and immigration are being resolved, and that they probably should not be merged.

The comments by House Homeland Security Management Subcommittee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., marked a change for a key lawmaker who last year leaned toward a merger of Customs and Border Protection with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and launched a series of hearings to explore this possibility.

During his third hearing on the issue, Rogers heard acting CBP Commissioner Deborah Spero and ICE Administrator Julie Myers, along with Stewart Baker, the department's assistant secretary for policy, argue that the agencies are working through their differences and making positive strides toward better coordination and integration.

CBP is responsible for enforcing laws along the borders. ICE is responsible for enforcing laws inside the country.

"Staying with this course of results-oriented coordination is a far better solution to securing the border and enforcing immigration law than imposing a massive reorganization through a merger of CBP and ICE," Baker said.

He added that trying to restructure the agencies would create six months to a year of "disruption, mission confusion and organizational churn."

Rogers seemed persuaded. "I have to admit that I kind of think that some of the things we've heard today were accurate [in that] they've gone through an evolutionary process and it's starting to work, and the facts bear that out," he said. "I'm inclined at this point to say a merger is probably not the best thing for us to do."

But some critics still believe that an overhaul is needed. T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, told the subcommittee that an "artificial distinction" exists between border security and interior enforcement. He did not recommend a merger, but a reorganization that would create three distinct agencies: one in charge of customs, one in charge of immigration and border security and another in charge of agriculture inspections.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you that good things are not happening. But they are happening not because of the structure but in spite of the structure," Bonner said.

COMMENTS

• The merger was, is and continues to be a fiasco! My office is getting hundreds of duty calls each week, virtually all regarding immigration matters. When legacy Customs duty agents try to contact legacy INS supervisors to find out what to do, they don't answer their phones, don't return messages or tell us to take care of it ourselves. We are totally unprepared to handle immigration matters, despite the pitiful attempt at cross-training we received, which was a total joke. No wonder INS was dissolved! Unfortunately, merging them with Customs OI just spread the disease. Whereas before the merger, it was virtually impossible to reach INS, it is just as bad since, although legacy Customs agents at least answer the phones at ICE! Virtually every legacy Customs 1811 in my office is looking for another job, either at another agency or the private sector. Others are choosing to retire early. Over 50 have left this office in the last three years, since ICE was created. Does anyone else see a problem here? How many more billions will be wasted at this failed agency? How much lower will morale plummet? How many more illegal aliens will enter this country, and once here, be free from any legal repercussions? Mr. President, Mr. Secretary, Mr. Rogers, Mr. King, and Ms. Collins, are you listening? Does anyone care????? GovExec.com reader Posted June 20, 2006 12:18 PM
• Mr. Rogers had better put on his sweater, and go back to his neighborhood! His original position on the proposed merger of CBP and ICE was not only correct, but vital to our national security. The fact that he changed his position after listening to the lies and spin coming from DHS "management" and their flacks at headquarters public affairs just shows what little real understanding he and his fellow members of Congress have of the problems confronting ICE, DHS and this nation. We would have been just as safe, if not safer, and at much lower cost to the taxpayers, if DHS was never created in the first place. All that had to be done to make this country safer was to talk with those of us who actually do this work. We would have explained what needed to be done, and how to do it, at a much lower cost! GovExec.com reader Posted June 5, 2006 5:49 PM
• Once again Congress is being bamboozled by the leadership at DHS, ICE and CBP. ICE does not just enforce interior laws; that was the old INS structure. BP and Inspectors handled interdiction and investigations at and around the border while INS Special Agents were only allowed to work in the interior. This was mostly because of the interagency turf battles between BP and Investigations. This is what made them dysfunctional; not to mention INV was being run by non-law enforcement managers now in CIS. Customs special agents worked and still work, internationally, at the border and in the interior where our investigations and our jurisdiction take us. The ineptitude, along with lack of mission understanding and focus has grown rampant within ICE (and DHS - FEMA and Katrina being the glaring example); while CBP maintains its focus on its mission and routinely expands authority and jurisdiction when appropriate. Merging would make both agencies stronger, more responsive and eliminate the duplication in just about every critical area, such as personnel, finance, administration, policy, jurisdiction, communications, and mission. ICE stands for I Can’t Explain. There is no logical explanation for the split of inspections/interdiction and investigations. GovExec.com reader Posted May 12, 2006 3:53 PM