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Return to Article: Panel approves Bush pick for Immigration, Customs bureau

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  "Be part of the solution?" Just how do you propose that? By caving in and agreeing to the misguided decisions that led to the destruction of agencies which worked better than those we are now stuck with? DHS and ICE, and to a lesser extent, CBP, are in dire straits. The only real answer to resolving this mess is to acknowledge that the creation of these agencies was a mistake, and to try and correct this mistake as best as we can. That does not mean saying things are peachy-keen, and keeping our mouths shut when we see waste, incompetence and mismanagement all around us. If we don't speak out, how in blazes do you expect anything to change for the better?

  GovExec.com reader Posted November 28, 2005 2:45 PM
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  All of your miserable complaining is so tiresome. We get it -- ICE is in shambles, you're all victims. It's amazing how much energy one can devote to being disgruntled. If you can't begin to be part of the solution, then please just get out of it altogether.

  GovExec.com reader Posted October 18, 2005 3:51 PM
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  To both of you legacy Customs Boo-hooers:

  I don't disagree with the fact that DHS is a disgrace; that's an understatement. I do take issue with your pounding of legacy INS getting all the perks while driving this agency into disarray. From the start, the majority of the SAC, ASAC, and General Schedule slots went to legacy Customs, not INS. Albeit, Garcia and company were put in charge but, that being the case, why was all the paperwork, policy, and protocol smitten with legacy Customs? Why was Bonner put in charge of CBP? Granted, he was the Pappa Smurf of Customs but what did he know about Border Patrol or legacy INS Inspections?

  Bottom line: Legacy Customs management had more than its fair share in the undermining of ICE. By the way, there's a lot of educated and knowledgeable legacy U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Special Agents bailing out too.

  The Gunny

  GovExec.com reader Posted October 17, 2005 3:12 PM
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  After the recent closed-door pandering sessions between Ms. Myers and certain deciding officials, it is a "lock" for Ms. Myers to be confirmed. Barring some serious skeletons in her closet, that is a given. So, what do we do? We will again play the waiting game until late 2008, when the new President is elected, unseats the current cast of characters (Chertoff, Myers, et al.) and we are left to pick up the broken pieces of what's left of this agency by then.

  DHS is a disgrace. There is a reason why the majority of the DHS agencies (BTS and otherwise) have had such a dismal turnover record. Every day, more and more educated and knowledgeable investigators are resigning and many more are currently looking for a new job. Most of them have one thing in common: they are all legacy U.S. Customs Service Special Agents.

  Supervisory Special Agent-ICE Posted October 13, 2005 8:56 AM
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  Once again, "Familiarity breeds contempt..." regarding the next fearless leader of this poster organization for dysfunction. This is yet another chapter in the sordid history of ICE and its failure to carry out the mission it was designed. Time after time, back to the days of legacy INS, we have been saddled with recipients of the "Political Puff-person of the Year" award to head an agency troubled by that very factor.

  As for Myers, she has no experience and no business in charge of this agency. She admitted to it herself by stating she would basically learn it via OJT. Hey, this isn't flippin' burgers; we're talking about the security of this nation, the enforcement of its laws, and the taking back of the integrity lost in the process. Speaking of integrity, I love all those famous headquarters memos about ethics and morals being foremost among us serfs in the fields yet I smell a big rat called nepotism scurrying around this latest dog and pony show. Don't forget all the lies, smoke and mirrors, backroom deals, and treachery that's been the showcase of this agency since its "misconception."

  Final note: before all you Bonner-boosters start waving your Bonner-blue flags around in victory, he didn't know dogsquat about how to run the Border Patrol. Just ask any of the agents. He found his own method for driving it into the ground. I can speak on my own behalf because I was an agent for 17.5 years prior to ICE.

  God help this outfit when the real troops are gone!

  The Gunny

  GovExec.com reader Posted October 11, 2005 5:28 PM
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  To those still bashing Clark and Forman, not so fast, and keep the following in mind.

  Yes, the two top people in ICE at this moment are legacy Customs, but let's rewind to the very beginning of this debacle, and see what kind of mess their predecessors left behind for Clark and Forman to pick up.

  Michael Garcia: Legacy INS. All he lived, breathed, knew, ate, drank and slept were legacy INS issues; he could have cared less about drugs, money, weapons, etc. Now mix in his henchman, Michael Doherty, brought up through the legacy INS ranks to remind the legacy Customs folks of a "new sheriff in town"; Doherty, from most spoken to at HQ, was singularly one of the most feared and hated people in the new ICE: not a personality you'd necessarily want as a leader.

  Ridge, Loy and Hutchinson?: All sellouts to the FBI, DEA, Coasties and anyone else in competition with legacy Customs. So, what to do? Give away traditional Customs authorities (read that 200 years worth), and leave the new ICE with the one thing no one wants: You guessed it: immigration!

  Now throw in the 13s who got 14s and the 14s who got 15s without competition (one way, in favor of legacy INS), pay banding, pay for performance, insufficient budgets, no equipment, no staffing, terrible, inherited legacy INS administrative systems, no mission other than to be every other agency's immigration crony, and you've just concocted the grand prix recipe for disaster within this agency.

  In other words, don't blame Clark, Forman or any of the legacy Customs SACs for this mess. They got what they were dealt, and had to tow the line, and do what they were told or get out. And, seriously, do you think a GS-15 or SES SAC is going to throw a 25 year career away on the eve of his or her retirement? You're a fool if you think otherwise. By the way, where are those that had the helm at the beginning of this mess now? USAO for SDNY? Private sector with 6-7 figure salaries? Hmmmm, do tell....

  In fact, I'm not sure that anyone short of G-d himself, much less Clark or Forman, can get us out of this mess now.

  Pathetic, shameful and disgraceful.

  GovExec.com reader Posted October 11, 2005 2:38 PM
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  Oh great, another incompetent lawyer pretending to be a law enforcement officer. I think I can speak safely for all 5,000-plus Law Enforcement Officers/Special Agents in ICE: we have no confidence in Ms. Myers! Lawyers should stick to practicing law and leave law enforcement to the true professionals!

  GovExec.com reader Posted October 11, 2005 1:22 PM
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  Michael Garcia, the former Immigration and Customs Enforcement assistant secretary, was so profoundly incompetent that this agency will welcome just about anyone to replace him. Julie Myers is a nuclear scientist compared to Garcia.

  Garcia was so entrenched in immigration issues that he allowed the Customs investigative programs to fall apart. When he realized that he couldn't fix what he broke, and that he knew nothing about drug, money laundering, export enforcement, counterfeiting and child porn investigations, he allowed other law enforcement agencies to pick up the slack. Customs investigations are now in danger of going to other agencies that are not going to give them the priority that they deserve.

  Now the reverse is happening: A nominee that knows nothing about immigration. The good news is that ICE has hit rock bottom. It can not sink any further. The only advice I can give Julie Myers is: do the opposite of what Michael Garcia, John Clark and Marcy Foreman did, and find a nice home at the southern border for Clark and Foreman where they can truly demonstrate their managerial talent.

  GovExec.com reader Posted October 11, 2005 10:39 AM
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  And the beat goes on. If there's any better indicator that this administration cares nothing about the immigration problem, it's this appointment. We've seen it many times before. Outsiders who think they can figure out how to fix the problem or solve the agency woes and then are overwhelmed (i.e. Michael Garcia).

  Four days to retirement....

  Group Supervisor Legacy INS/ICE

  GovExec.com reader Posted October 11, 2005 8:20 AM
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  The selection of Julie Myers will be an outstanding opportunity for ICE agents. Chertoff has laid out his political future on her (both in Congress and the public). With the Brown/FEMA mess, Chertoff cannot afford any negative press regarding Myers or ICE. Chertoff picked Myers and paid a high price. ICE will have Chertoff's personal interest throughout the Myers term.

  Now is the time for our senior managers to lead this agency back on course and right many wrongs. Those senior managers include Mr. Clark, Mrs. Foreman, Mr. Lang, and every SAC located throughout the country. You have Chertoff's full attention.

  GovExec.com reader Posted October 10, 2005 11:45 PM
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  These Democrats are a joke. That is why I never went to the polls the last time. The whole thing amounts to cronyism, not politics (guess that is politics). The whole country is fed up with overpaid politicians who can't seem to get it right. The administration selects these people for these positions like the postal service selects postmasters. The whole government is a bunch of incompetent imbeciles. They couldn't get it right before 9/11 and still don't have it right after Katrina. All they have done is make Halliburton that much richer, and this country that much poorer and they worry about a constitution for Iraq? They better come home and look at America, or at least someone better.

  Chuck Posted October 10, 2005 6:30 PM
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  This is a very sad story. At ICE, we receive daily messages from our Public Affairs section linking us to articles stating that Julie Myers is not qualified and lacks confidence from a number of organizations. In other words, ICE is going out of its way to tell its employees that they are getting a potentially weak and ineffective leader. What kind of internal communications strategy is this?

  Current ICE acting director John Clark once sent us an email saying that if we (the rank and file) were not happy in ICE, we should leave. What kind of message are they sending us now? That we should run screaming?

  What is even worse is that Congress knows there are problems with her resume, yet lawmakers appear to be endorsing her anyway. Her qualifications are roughly the same as those of former ICE director Michael Garcia: widely regarded by ICE employees as weak and ineffective. Garcia established no real strategy for ICE, ensuring that four years after 9/11, the agency has no real counter-terrorism role. He did little to manage the transition that formed ICE, so that years after our creation, we are still not a coherent agency.

  Being a Justice Department attorney does not qualify someone to run a 20,000 person enforcement agency. We would be better off with a former Army division commander who understands how to move large groups of people to further a defined strategy.

  Is ATF hiring? How about any of the OIGs?

  GovExec.com reader Posted October 9, 2005 4:56 PM
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  There have been numerous articles relating to the dysfunctional working environment at ICE. The problems are too numerous to mention but all are attributable to the lack of resources and leadership. Now, once again, we are faced with a Secretary that fails to meet the statutory requirement of five years of managerial experience.

  In an attempt to fulfill this requirement Ms. Myers alleged that she supervised agents as a US Attorney. She prosecuted and supervised cases not agents. She didn't hire the agents, prioritize their assignments, approve their time cards, complete their appraisals, oversee their performance, discipline them when appropriate, approve their awards, approve their case reports, approve their travel vouchers, etc. How many employees has Ms. Myers actually supervised? How many billion dollar budgets has she overseen? I am certain that Ms. Myers is a fine lawyer and a dedicated public servant; however, Ms. Myers does not meet the minimum statutory requirements for the position. End of story.

  With the magnitude of problems at ICE only the most experienced of managers should be considered. I thought that under merit promotion we were looking for the "best qualified" not the minimally qualified candidates. ICE is the second largest investigative agency in government. Would Ms Myers be considered to be the director of the FBI?

  Alas, Mr. Chertoff has finally communicated his vision for ICE. Ruin!

  GovExec.com reader Posted October 9, 2005 4:39 PM
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  Here is my predication: Ms. Julie Myers will be confirmed to be the next ICE assistant secretary (that's easy). Barring any "9/11-Katrina" style catastrophic event, she will start her, "Get to know what ICE does" 2006 tour. She'll need to see first-hand, this immigration crises, that everyone is complaining about. This will require her to tour along the southwest border sometime after January 2006. In late spring, she will need to see what the foreign offices are doing, which will require her to take a trip somewhere overseas -- my guess, it'll be Paris. Throughout the year, she will attend homeland security, antiterrorism, and immigration conferences here and there.

  Ms. Myers will continue this over the next several years, in the meantime, she'll rely on her DOJ experience and associates from there to dictate what she should do. She will rely on a panel of some kind to advise her. ICE will lose the battle over Title 21 issues with DEA, be subservient to the FBI on terrorist matters. ICE will get all the immigration cases that the FBI discards in its fight on terrorism. CBP will start conducting investigations outside the ports without any 1811 authority, substituting it using border patrol's authority.

  In the summer of 2008, sometime before the election, she will "feel" she can do no more for ICE and it will be time for her to move on. She will get accolades for something she improved and once again ICE will have another acting person in charge.

  I hope my prediction is wrong and I do not even come close. ICE has the chance and momentum to "get it right" if it has the guts to do so. Using the immigration fear factor and combining it all with the legacy customs investigative authority, ICE can dictate its place in federal law enforcement. Please prove me wrong, and good luck Ms. Myers.

  GovExec.com reader Posted October 9, 2005 4:13 PM
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  Re: "Lieberman said Myers lacked the relevant experience in management and immigration issues necessary to run an agency that has been plagued by mismanagement and budgetary problems."

  How much experience do you need to captain this ship of fools?!! Who has experience in immigration issues that shouldn't be arrested or fired tomorrow?

  Why don't we try something new for a change and take individual responsibility for this mess. Stop looking to a single leader as a savior because it isn't going to happen.

  GovExec.com reader Posted October 7, 2005 7:01 PM