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Following the lead of the Customs and Border Protection bureau, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is considering requiring its trainees to learn Spanish as part of their academy curriculum.

Spanish-speaking agents are at a premium at border and immigration agencies as federal managers and Capitol Hill staffers say the fight against illegal aliens hinges, in part, on the ability to communicate effectively in the field.

At the United States-Mexico border, the inability of some National Guard members sent to assist in border control to speak and understand Spanish was noted by veteran CBP officials, said one congressional staffer familiar with illegal immigration issues.

"This is one of the objections the Border Patrol has always had to using the National Guard," the source said, adding "and also why the National Guard now is in a support rather than a front-line role. Obviously, you can't tolerate possible armed confrontations between people who can't communicate well."

Under the former Immigration and Naturalization Services agency within the Justice Department, border patrol personnel and managers were required to be fluent in Spanish. When these employees joined CBP or ICE with the formation of the Homeland Security Department, requirements diverged. CBP has what one manager called an accelerated Spanish program, equivalent to taking college language courses.

Trainees are required to take 300 hours of Spanish courses in a 20-week period, said Border Patrol spokeswoman Maria Valencia. At the Border Patrol's academy, trainees are required to learn basic commands and interviewing skills in Spanish. But, Valencia said, for some this is an uphill battle.

"Some of the guys who come here, they don't even know how to ask for a cerveza," Valencia said.

But at ICE most agents and managers are not required to speak or learn Spanish, an agency manager said. It is considered a positive for a job candidate to know Spanish, and the agency has translators, according to the manager.

"It's a money issue," the ICE manager said, when pressed for details. "It's a valuable asset. This agency doesn't realize it."

ICE, however, is considering making itself more like CBP. Michael Keegan, an ICE spokesman, said the agency may require some employees - - mainly those responsible for detention of illegal immigrants - - to learn Spanish. Keegan said this is simply being discussed and is not yet an official policy.

The ICE source said two additional months of instruction would be necessary for each trainee if the agency were to begin requiring and teaching Spanish. There is no estimated price tag or timetable for this yet, Keegan said.

The CBP manager said ICE might have made a misstep in not directing trainees to learn Spanish, but noted that the agencies have two separate roles in securing the border. CBP is responsible for border protection and enforcement, while ICE devotes more of its resources to detaining illegal immigrants.

ICE and CBP are not alone in their desire to have more Spanish speakers onboard. In a speech at Government Executive's Excellence in Government conference last month, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen said retention of Spanish-speakers is a priority.

But like ICE, the Coast Guard doesn't have strict language requirements.

"The Coast Guard does not have a Spanish-language requirement for individuals entering active duty," said Jeff Carter, a Coast Guard spokesman. "We do have some military positions that we prefer to fill with Spanish speakers, and we track members that are Spanish speakers so that we can call on them if required."

COMMENTS

• In response to ICE SSA's comments regarding legacy U.S. Customs investigations: I'm desperately trying not to take your comments personally, but your lack of knowledge regarding what was once a first class investigative agency has obligated me to respond. Yes, those are headlines derived from a "fraud case." What any headline will not mention is the complexities of these cases. When compared to processing aliens, which was the ill-fated INS Office of Investigations' main focus, even this case (ridiculed by you) is what true criminal investigators are supposed to do. I do not intend to blame the legacy INS agents for not being able to conduct complex investigations, but instead blame the agency that allowed those agents to rise to the level of SSA, GS, ASAC, DSAC, and SAC, lacking even the most basic investigative training, such as CITP (Criminal Investigator Training Program; for those of you that only attended FLETC to become INS inspectors and Border Patrol Agents). As to whether ICESAT should incorporate language training into its curriculum, give me a break! ICE should spend those funds to provide basic investigative training to their current legacy INS investigators. I understand why INS needed language training (to aid processing of illegal aliens), but a second language is not required to conduct a complex criminal investigation. An investigator with basic investigative skills would know that in order to conduct an investigation, one does not need to speak the language of the individuals targeted and that there are an abundance of ways to surpass that language barrier. Therefore, if you have the investigative training/experience, you can investigate Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and even "Martian" speaking subjects without speaking their native language. It should be noted that I am a native Spanish speaker. SSA Legacy USCS GovExec.com reader Posted October 10, 2006 11:15 PM
• To "ICE SSA" regarding your last posting, Please explain what you meant by this post. Could it be that you are a legacy INS agent seeking to ridicule the cases investigated by legacy Customs agents? If so, you sure have a lot to learn about what Customs investigated prior to the ill-conceived merger with INS to form ICE. If not, again, please explain yourself. GovExec.com reader Posted September 5, 2006 12:53 PM
• This is more typical of the investigations legacy Customs and now ICE Agents are a part of, not selling stinger missles to Iran... In December 2004, as part of an eight-month investigation, agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement intercepted a shipping container packed with nearly 10,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike shoes. An ICE news release estimated the potential financial loss for Nike at $700,000. Let's be honest with ourselves... ICE SSA ICE SSA Posted August 29, 2006 6:26 AM