Democrats criticize Homeland Security hiring freeze

Democratic lawmakers voiced concern this week about a Homeland Security Department decision to put a hold on hiring agents at three bureaus.

The hiring freeze applies to the bureaus of Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Citizenship and Immigration Services.

"All of these entities perform front-line missions critical to securing our nation," said Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas, ranking member on the Select Committee on Homeland Security, in a letter to DHS Secretary Tom Ridge. The letter was released Monday by Turner's office and it cited a potential ICE and CBP budget shortfall of $1.2 billion, which was first reported last week by the Wall Street Journal. "It is important for the select committee to have a full understanding of any budget pressures facing the DHS. I request that you immediately provide the select committee with a detailed assessment of whether the $1.2 billion budget shortfall exists, the reasons for its existence, potential remediation efforts and the impact of such efforts."

DHS officials said the move would not compromise homeland security efforts.

"Absolutely not," said department spokesman Dennis Murphy. "There is absolutely no affect on the front-line officers, on the initiatives or the mission. [It is] just a prudent management step."

Murphy said the freeze was put in place because a cursory review of the bureaus' finances revealed that the current rate of spending was projected to exceed budget limitations. DHS analysts are now scouring the department's budget to determine if it actually needs to adjust its hiring plans. It is unclear if a budget shortfall actually exists, or if the nascent department is simply having troubling reconciling different accounting systems.

"Early indications were that we may have to make some adjustments," Murphy said, explaining the freeze. So officials decided, "Let's do something now, while we're continuing this review, so we don't dig this hole deeper."

In a January interview with Government Executive, a senior DHS official said the department was planning to hire 3,648 Customs and Border Protection officers in fiscal 2004. At ICE, some offices faced staffing challenges even before the hiring freeze. For example, at the ICE Academy at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Ga., some instructors now must handle administrative work, too, according to an ICE source.

DHS will not be able to provide a time line of the fiscal review or a picture of how hiring targets will be effected "until we get a complete understanding of precisely what we are dealing with," Murphy said.

That uncertainty, however, has some lawmakers upset. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., is fuming at the lack of an updated time line.

"We are still outraged," said Maloney spokesman Afshin Mohamadi.

Jason Peckenpaugh contributed to this report.