Poor leadership at ICE cited as security threat

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U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement's ability to gather and share intelligence data, conduct the investigations needed to guard the nation's borders against terrorists and enforce immigration law is being challenged by a growing number of ICE supervisors and agents.

Both supervisory and rank-and-file personnel, in numerous interviews, said the Department of Homeland Security agency is overwhelmed by low morale, mismanagement and the lack of a clearly defined mission, and said the lack of effective leadership threatens its ability to defend the United States against a new terrorist attack.

At least two congressional committees are reviewing the accusations and have met with ICE supervisors and agents to discuss the matter.

"Serious accusations have been made and there is a concerted effort under way to determine their validity and, more importantly, find out how they impact the country's ability to fight the war on terrorism," said one congressional investigator. "The complaints are specific and widespread. We take them seriously."

ICE supervisors and agents say they are worried about, among other things, management decisions that have muddled long-standing chains of command; the assignment of patrol agents and inspectors to one agency and investigators to another; and the misuse of computer systems that had been effective for everything from inspections, investigations and data collection to in-house networking and personnel matters.

They questioned whether ICE has sought to maintain the legacy of its predecessor, the U.S. Customs Service, which developed an expertise in smuggling and money-laundering investigations, and said they doubted the new agency is committed to enforcing immigration law, particularly in the nation's interior, where 10 million illegals live.

Less than two years after ICE was created, discontent among supervisors and rank-and-file agents has spread from quiet chatter in locker rooms and patrol vehicles to open rebellion in its field and regional offices.

Letters and e-mails sent by ICE personnel to members of Congress show that many think significant leadership shortfalls have translated into low morale.

One e-mail delivered to congressional investigators said field agents "desperately require a set of goals that relate to terrorist investigations and protecting our borders," but because the ICE leadership has failed to accomplish that goal in the 20 months since the agency was created, they have "no respect or confidence in their ability to do so."

Much of the criticism targets Asa Hutchinson, Homeland Security undersecretary for border and transportation security, who oversees ICE, and ICE Assistant Secretary Michael J. Garcia, who heads the agency.