Return to Article: Immigration, customs agencies still struggling to coordinate efforts
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7137
As for the INS agents who have actually been attempting to argue that the INS was better than Customs, or that the quality of INS work and/or the quality of INS agents is better than Customs, I can settle this debate quite easily. How many special agents from Customs left in order to go the INS (or any other agency for that matter)? Answer: Virtually none. And how many special agents from the INS left in order to go to Customs (or another agency)? Answer: A boatload. The INS was notorious for one of the highest turnover rates in the federal government, whereas almost no agents ever left the U.S. Customs Service. In addition, it was also much harder to get hired by Customs than by the INS. There's a legacy INS agent a friend of mine used to work with who actually passed his background exam with two D.W.I. convictions. This is probably just one of many of such examples. If the INS was so great, why did they have such incredibly low standards (they hired all kinds of rejects from other agencies), and why would they have one the highest turnover rates in government? I believe that ends the debate.
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7114
TO SSA - ICE - Seattle - In response to: "... government (at least GAO) knew that the whole DHS reorganization would result in declines in "productivity and effectiveness" for a period of 5-7 years. Why in God's name would we engage in such a crippling reorganization in the middle of the Global War on Terror?" Because it was change for the sake of change - full steam ahead.
And agents (some anyway) - please find ways to express yourselves without sounding like immature malcontents for the public to see. We look like poster children for outsourcing/downsizing government!
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6987
To the SrSA Legacy INS. YOU DON'T INVESTIGATE TERRORISM. As far as working a large number of criminal cases, you could keep your 1326 cases. I could go to any jail in the U.S. and pick one up. I'll stick with taking kilos off the street anyday. The work INS was doing wasn't even 1811 work. That is one of the reasons Slattery created the 1801 IEA position. The only cases INS did worth talking about were alien smuggling cases and not the ones where a trooper pulled over a van load and you guys prosecuted the driver. Even then you had to fight with border patrol.
I just find it amazing that 95% of the INS agents used to complain about the working conditions. Now that your free from the incompetent management at INS, you all still complain.
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6862
I think the problem here is that those of us that came from the US Customs side were not expecting our workload to increase so much. INS Special Agents spent too much of their time doing alien processing that a lower position should be doing and not enough time working on criminal investigations.
This bickering is absurd, though. Frankly, I'm embarassed at the way some of my legacy brethren are behaving. I've seen better behavior on kindergarten playgrounds...
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6844
I am a legacy INS Senior Special Agent and yes, I was one before the merger. I have been an agent for 15+ years and have worked a large number of criminal cases, more than any USCS agent will ever work. I, for one, want to apologize to all the USCS agents for this merger ruining the scam you guys were running on the American people. I have been located in the legacy USCS office for almost a year now and I just love watching everyone come strolling into the office at 10am.
I know INS has a bunch of slackers, but you USCS guys out do us. In INS, maybe 2 or 3 guys per unit worked major criminal cases with the other agents in a support role. As far as I can see (and I've been on the inside looking hard) each of the USCS groups is lucky to have one agent able to work as a "major" (read criminal) case agent. Most of the agents just steal cases from CBP or the state and locals, much like the FBI. Let's not even talk about the scam with the state and locals getting overtime to do your work.
I agree that ICE got horrible administrative support. But, I'd like to note that your savior, Bonner, stole all the good stuff and left you guys with crap.
I hope you USCS dudes get your wish and we separate again. I just hope you capture that major fake Pokemon card ring or seize that kilo of heroin (that EVERY other LEA in the US can seize) before the world falls apart. Oh yeah, I forgot, you guys don't work meaningful cases.
Let the legacy INS agents catch the terrorists.
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6828
It is a very common practice, and ICE management consistently turns a blind eye towards ICE agents who work less than 40 hour work weeks, and are still rewarded, praised, and promoted, all because they don't go against the management grain.... ICE Agents reading this know who they are, every office has one or more.... quit putting yourselves on such high mantles, both INS and Customs never produced the quality or quantity of criminal prosecutions in relation to the total number of Special Agents they have..... why? because the same lame field agents are now lame supervisors... wake up people
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6822
I'll take our 1-2 ACTUAL arrests each year and counterfeit INVESTIGATIONS as opposed to going to a jail to blabber to some clueless illegal alien and filling out 3,000,000 forms of paperwork.
Even if your claims of our poor reputation are true, it beats the heck out of your previous reps. Enjoy those 13s.
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6815
It is amazing to me that most of the comments are how "bad" the former INS Legacy personnel are/were and from the perspective of former legacy Customs folks.
Having said that, why don't all of you "great former legacy Customs" folks grow up and learn to work together, teach, lead, set an example, if you think that you are "without sins"; from the position that those of us who worked for the former INS Legacy, we are the ones that has the short end of the "stick".
It is my belief, that no former INS Legacy employee comes to work thinking, I think I'll really do a bad job today! Traditionally INS was mandated to certain tasks that involved expensive equipment, training and virtually impossible tasks to achieve without the necessary funding to achieve the "mandates".
As far as "outdated" programs used; I believe that is not an accurate accessment. Just because one is familiar with programs being used, doesn't make it better. It would behove the "whiners" to learn the systems and programs and move forward; exercise a little courtesy and professionalism and learn to work with each other and learn the systems that is necessary from both groups.
From where I am viewing and experiencing, "fairness" and "buy-in" is only lip service; action speaks louder than words. Lip service doesn't accomplish anything. The result is "demotivated" and stressed out employees on both sides of this "hostile marriage".
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6812
To listen to the experts on this article comment, you might actually think that our ex-Customs counterparts were really doing a terrific job prior to the merger. I've been doing this a long time and I've seen a lot of Customs RACs come and go through my very large geographical area. A few were well thought of, but the majority were either alcoholics, buttholes, or incompetent. I've had Senior AUSAs in two separate judicial districts ask me if there was still a Customs office in their District because they never saw Customs Agents anymore. So your arrogance on your agency efficiency and effectiveness is an internal Customs' myth. Trust me, you are not that well thought of outside of your own circle of kool-aid drinking egos. Quit criticizing and downing the legacy INS Agents. Your agency was 4500 S/As strong. At the time of the merger we had about 1800 S/As trying to handle an incomprehensible work load. We did what we were able to do. And you can blame Congress for that.
The rumors are flying these days about the agency breaking up again with legacy Customs Agents moving back to CBP. Trust me when I say that those of us at legacy INS will not miss you if you leave. Then you can go back to making your 1-2 arrests per year again and have plenty of time for your SEACATS and TECS entries, and working counterfeit merchandise cases.
Proud Legacy INS Senior Special Agent
New Orleans AOR -
6796
Instead of calling those who speak out about the very real problems brought about by the dissolution of Customs and INS, and the creation of ICE, whiners, complaimers, etc., why not consider what we have to say? If you have an open mind, or any mind at all, you should be able to see that the problems described in these postings are real, and need to be addressed. When political appointees and politicians in Congress decide to do something on a scale like this, for purely political reasons, watch out! Especially since nobody had the good sense and common courtesy to talk with those who actually did those jobs, and knew the subject matter better than anyone. And by the way, I am a former Customs inspector with over 20 years of service, and I didn't write this on LEAP, or on an office computer. We also want the best for our country, as well as ourselves and our families, and have a right to feel betrayed. If you actually thought about what we're saying, you would have to agree that we are making important points, which, if actually studied and implemented, would help to make this nation and this agency better and stronger. So it's not just sour grapes, but the need to do something to fix a terrible situation, that motivates most, if not all of us who have commented on this so-called merger. Yes, we're emotional, but there is substance to what we're saying!!!
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6795
The previous writer listed Garcia as a former AUSA. You forgot to mention one thing, GARCIA was the last Commissioner of INS before it was abolished by the US Congress - read the Homeland Security Act.
The previous writer also failed to mention Michael Dougherty, the ex-ICE Director of Operations. Who was a GS-12/13 INS agent in New York when Garcia was the AUSA on the 1993 WTC bombing trial. Dougherty did a good job pulling A files and any other follow up the FBI didn't want to do or told Garcia they wouldn't do. He was Garcia's Jr. FBI agent.
Garcia and Dougherty are the two main reasons that ICE is in bad shape. To be a good federal prosecutor does not mean you have the experience to run a brand new agency with 20,000 employees. Just because Dougherty did a good job putting together the immigration portion of a terrorist investigation (very small) does not mean he has the experience/background/leadership to be the number two guy in a brand new agency.
In the planning stages of this agency the SACs and senior management could not get past Dougherty to explain to Garcia the right way to do things. Dougherty and Garcia agreed to use legacy INS administrative programs and policies that were broken. In addition, Garcia gave 19 out of the 25 SACs to legacy Customs agents with failed INS administrative programs. Right leadership with broken tools to do the job.
Legacy Customs agents worked for an agency that ran on outstanding automated administrative and investigation programs. For the last year and a half, we have seen decisions and policies that have not made sense. Mistakes have been made, and the people responsible from them are feeling the pressure. Dougherty is gone and Garcia probably won't last past January. ICE has the proper people (yes they are legacy Customs) in senior management positions and they will make it work.
Were not going back to CBP, and everyone needs to deal with this. BTS has to step up and provide leadership with cementing an extremely close relationship between CBP and ICE (tie all interdictions to all investigations).
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6791
How about ICE GS-14 Supervisory Special Agents who have been promoted, without ever having completed a criminal prosecution in their career? Yet they meet the KASO's?? Believe it or not, it exists, just do a little digging.
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6790
I am a former CBP officer and I, for one, am gratified to see that so many of the GS-1811s from both Customs and INS are all concentrated in one place away from inspectors and border patrol. Too bad that all of these LEAP earners need to actually go out and make their own cases all by themselves. I guess that extra 25% worktime is used to post their moaning on this site while on duty.
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6789
Some of you sound like orphans whining for the father who abandoned them (Bonner). It is pathetic. Why don't you wake up from your fantasy, and accept the fact that organizations change and evolve. And just who are the "career ladder secretaries or investigative assistants" that are in charge? Assistant Secretary Garcia (former AUSA)? Deputy Assistant Secretary Clark (legacy Customs)? Director of Investigations Forman (legacy Customs)? Assistant Director of Investigations Lang (legacy Customs)? The Special Agents in Charge (19 out of 25 legacy Customs)?
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6788
Based on your article, I took the time to download and read the GAO report. I find it terrifying that the government (at least GAO) knew that the whole DHS reorganization would result in declines in "productivity and effectiveness" for a period of 5-7 years. Why in God's name would we engage in such a crippling reorganization in the middle of the Global War on Terror? The question would be even more germane if ICE was actually assigned a main line counterterrorism or homeland security role. Outside of the JTTF, we have no such role (unless you count the national security threat from drugs).
In addition, the report states that "integration" between legacy INS and Customs is being partially achieved by the ICE cross training program. As an instructor in that bogus, canned program, I can tell you that it is poorly prepared and very confusing. We took what used to entail months of training and turned it into two weeks of training? And we think this will help? It actually hurts. By providing poor quality training, we maintain the notion on both legacy sides that the other side is completely screwed up.
As to consulting employees to achieve "buy in", this has simply not happened. The working agents (who accomplish the missions of the two legacy agents) were not consulted on any level I am aware of as to how best integrate our missions. By failing to involve us in the process (actually ignoring us), the agency fostered resistence to integration. Ask any investigator at ICE, and they will tell you - we are two very different groups held together in a miserable shot-gun marriage. We are not one agency, we are different entities thrown into a box called ICE. Putting us in the same box does not make us "one".
Where are our badges? The GAO report stated ICE would start issuing them in September. It is late October - where are they?
The GAO report completely failed to explain that, based on legacy INS systems, an agent cannot actually tell if any alien in the US is actually deportable. We often cannot determine an alien's status until we go and ask the alien to show us his paperwork...
ICE is a mess, and after the next terrorist attack, someone is going to ask a lot of hard questions as to why we are such a mess and why we are not doing what the public seems to think we are doing...
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6786
The rumor is flying that Garcia will soon be leaving, we can only hope that there is truth to this. He was totally unprepared to lead an organization like ICE. Hopefully this is the first step in bringing ICE and CBP together.
ICE Agent
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6779
I agree that the dismantling of INS was long overdue, and the fact that Congress had been working on it and unable to do it for several years prior to this is especially troubling. Everyone who had this grand idea to break up the INS and "merge" them with Customs should be forced to work in the mess they created for eternity. If we follow the example of these morons in our daily lives we would end up with similarly devastating results. For example, if your car were to get a flat tire on the freeway, according to these morons the best course of action would be to rotate all the tires on the car and continue driving, never fixing the flat. The INS Special Agents mean well and I believe that they do want to be empowered to do their jobs to the best of their ability, but for too long they have suffered under an administration that knows or cares little or anything about law enforcement. Having been a Border Patrol agent for several years, I know exactly how the INS worked. I have seen too many career ladder secretaries or investigative assistants work their welfare to work butts up to becoming investigative supervisors without ever having to do a criminal prosecution. These same morons are now firmly in charge of what used to be an excellent organization with Tradition, Service, and Honor in mind since 1789. Mr. Bonner, why hast though forsaken us.
Senior Special Agent US Customs Service
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6777
It is true, while the abolishment of INS was a long overdue necessity (and a good thing for its employees), the breakup of the U.S. Customs Service was a mistake of drastic proportions, and it has led to a state of catastrophe for the agency as well as its traditional inspectional and investigative areas. How on earth did anyone ever justify the breakup of Customs, one of the strongest, most efficient (and the oldest) law enforcement agencies in the country? Unfortunately, as much of a mistake as this was, there is absolutely no chance that we will ever go back. Because to do this, the idiots in charge of this merger would have to admit that a mistake was made. When it comes to making a logical decision versus avoiding an admission of error, I think we all know where the morons in charge of this stand, even when it means making our country less secure. Given its current state of disaster, there is a chance that ICE might eventually be sucked under CBP, which would be a definite step up. But there is NO chance that the U.S. Customs Service will be reinstated the way it was, totally separate from the I&NS. One way or another, we are now eternally stained with the stink of the I&NS.
It is especially troubling that the letter writing campaign to Capitol Hill by employees from various agencies, unions, and groups within DHS did nothing to change the situation even slightly. They didn't even so much as roll one head, not even Michael Garcia's.
As far as I'm concerned, all officials even remotely responsible for this fiasco, and all propogating it (especially Garcia), deserve to be fired and humiliated on national television. It is sad that these worthless pieces of trash have been allowed to destroy what was the greatest law enforcement agency in the U.S., and then to actually attempt to portray this as a positive thing for the security of our country. Unfortunately, the rest of us must now either go through an entire career pondering "what should have been", or leave. This is an atrocity, and all those responsible should be ashamed.
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6775
Imagine that....this was a big mistake merging the two of us....Solution...INS Criminal Investigators go back to their side of the yard and continue to work their own "investigations" and let us (US Customs Special Agents), go back to what we were doing best working actual criminal investigations!!!! It was a grandioso idea, but it doesn't work for 1811's....the inspectors yes...us, no...
enough said.
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