Homeland Security, IG dispute impact of merging agencies
Lawmaker says he expects bill combining ICE and CBP to be introduced this week.
The Homeland Security Department and its inspector general's office on Tuesday disagreed over how much of a disruption a merger of two of the department's law enforcement agencies would cause.
Stewart Baker, DHS' recently confirmed assistant secretary for policy, told a House subcommittee that merging the bureaus of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement would result in "staggering" costs and would set back border security efforts by "a year or more."
A merger would create a new set of problems, such as defining missions and jobs, choosing leadership, and establishing a new culture, Baker said. The department's reluctance to merge the two agencies is the direct result of having gone through a major reorganization when DHS was created in 2003, he said.
"We would lose a year in the effort to control the border," Baker said.
Baker testified before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Management, Integration and Oversight on the same day that the department's inspector general released a controversial report recommending the bureaus be merged.
Robert Ashbaugh, assistant inspector general for inspections and special reviews, also testified and acknowledged that a merger would result in turmoil and confusion. But, he said, a merger is the most favorable option in the long run.
The inspector general did not examine the drawbacks to a merger, Baker shot back.
Ashbaugh, however, said the IG did look at the negative impact. "We don't see an adverse consequence to it," he said.
Lawmakers expressed interest in moving ahead with a merger. Subcommittee ranking member Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., said he expects legislation on the issue to be introduced this week.
"I do feel very strongly that we can merge," Meek said. "I don't feel it'll take a year."
Baker acknowledged many of the problems identified by the IG report, but said he believes they are being addressed. When pressed by lawmakers for timelines, he said the department intends to have "a properly functioning mechanism for handling detention and removal within six months" and "substantial improvements" in intelligence sharing between ICE and CBP "within a year."
"We're not perfect yet, that's for sure. But I think we are on the road and can see the way forward to addressing a lot of these problems," Baker said.