GovernmentExecutive.com

Homeland Security job applicants reacted with surprise and confusion Monday after DHS officials announced that the current hiring freeze would not be lifted until at least the beginning of the next fiscal year in October.

Earlier this year, DHS stopped hiring agents and officers at the bureaus of Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Citizenship and Immigration Services because internal audits showed the departments might be on track to exceed their budgets. After a review, DHS officials determined the projected budget shortfall was actually a result of mismatched accounting systems.

Nevertheless, DHS announced Friday that recruiting needs for fiscal 2004 have been met and the hiring freeze will remain in place.

That announcement stunned many applicants, who said they had been promised jobs and were already well into the hiring process. The applicants asked to remain anonymous in order to protect their chances for employment once the DHS agencies begin hiring again. All of them complained of a lack of communication from Homeland Security officials over their standing and the status of the hiring freeze.

One applicant said he was so far into the hiring process that he had submitted his geographic preferences for stationing, but had heard little from DHS in recent weeks. He described himself as "very disheartened."

Another woman - who is attempting to become a CBP agent - was told early this year that she was about to receive a job offer, according to her father.

"They told her they would get back to her within weeks," he said. "She's still waiting. She wants the job real bad ... she's getting very, very anxious."

Charles Showalter, president of American Federation of Government Employees Department of Homeland Security Council 117, disputed the assertion that DHS front-line units are fully staffed.

"Their claim that we don't need to hire people because we're all caught up, that may be, but it hasn't hit the field yet," he said. "We still have inspectors, the CBP officers, working a lot of hours on overtime. We need more officers out there."

An agency as important as Homeland Security, Showalter said, should not be making personnel decisions within tight budget constraints. He said he would visit Capitol Hill to petition for more DHS funding.

"The people in Washington may be comfortable with the personnel levels, but I'm not sure that anybody else is," he said. "We need to get more quality people in here, working."

COMMENTS

• In response to SA Chris, I applied for Detention and Removal, Investigations positions and a few other with former INS. (I am a current employee with CIS) I waited over a year, but by the time I got any acknowledgement, it was too late-I reached the "golden" age of 37, which we all know forbids anyone past that age from any type of law enforcement position. I am still with CIS, but frankly, no longer have the desire to stick around this agency, or the Feds for that matter. I then applied to TSA as a screener, but they lost my application. To be honest, I think TSA's days are numbered as it is. I have started applying to local and state agencies. One I applied for even called me notifying me of a test date. Harry Posted August 19, 2004 2:01 PM
• As a current SA w/ICE, I would advise *against* applying for a position w/in this agency, as it is a complete mess. Not only are applicants left in the dark, but so are current employees (no information comming from the leadership - no new badges/credentials after 16 months, budget woes persist, no mission focus, etc). I am hoping to move to another federal agency (previously an SA w/Customs and happy). The new hires are also very upset with the merger and they too are looking to get out. In light of the aforementioned, ICE is not the place to be unless you prefer uncertainty, confusion, low moral, outdated and inaccurate badges/credentials, multiple agency name changes, and immigration-centric enforcement. If the public only knew... Chris Posted June 21, 2004 8:22 AM
• Unfortunately I have had the same basic experience as the previous reader. However, I was persistent and found out at DHS CIE at the Twin Cities Center Hiring Center (both from the security and hiring office) they only said "We can not confirm nor deny" anything about the hiring freeze other than "We have not been told anything about when the hiring freeze will end." They did try to apologize for the inconvenience though I know it is not anyone's fault. This is plain dumb to treat people who willing to leave a well paying position (in my case a union CCNA position with SBC) to go to government department that from the beginning is treating a future hire like a mushroom, keeping me in the dark and feeding me fertilizer. It is my hope Congress investigates the amount of funds that are lost because a person like me just gives up and goes to other job opportunities. Al Leiva Posted June 16, 2004 12:02 PM