“King David”:

I usually hate to get involved in online debates, but reading your posts compels me to respond, because they are so misinformed. Although I despise the merger, and feel that things would be much better if Customs and INS went back to doing what they did prior to 2003, I take issue with your assertion that ICE is not a “law enforcement agency”. If that is true, then we were all badly misinformed when ICE was created, when we were told that ICE would include all prior Customs and INS authorities.

I was a Customs agent for 20 years prior to the merger, and after the creation of ICE in 2003, I continued to work in my area of expertise, namely, CRIMINAL investigations of money laundering and other financial crimes involving the border. I’m still an 1811 criminal investigator, because I never stopped doing criminal investigations.

I was totally opposed to the merger, for various reasons, but the merger didn’t change what I do, and my authority as a Customs agent continues under ICE, with the addition of immigration authorities, whether I use them or not. Don’t think that every ICE agent does nothing but adminitrative immigration enforcement, because we do plenty of other things too, including CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS involving violations of both Customs and immigration laws.

Senior Special Agent on January 9, 2011 at 8:05 pm

Gentlemen, please enough! The bottom line is that both Immigration and Customs services would be better off if ICE were divided back to their original configurations; the only problem, seemingly is “would the immigration clown GS-13’s and clown GS-14 supervisors relinquish their rank?” We all know they do not deserve it, but would they be eligible for unionization again? Would new immigration agents come from Examinations or Adjudications and not be required to attend FLETC Basic Agent School? But then again who cares? Let Immigration be Immigration. and bring back Customs Office of Investigations. My experience with the legacy immigration agents is that, yes, they would be at the office at 7 am, albeit drinking coffee and reading the paper, and would go home at 3:00 pm, Customs agents working on criminal cases could never get them to come out overnight (their union rules I presume). ICE seems to think that hiring Border Patrol and IEA’s, to be criminal investigators is a good policy. They fail to realize that these clowns are lost in an urban environment, you can’t apply administrative, border “cutting sign” tactics to modern, urban, complex sophisticated criminal investigations, that’s part of the reason why ICE is the laughing stock of federal agencies right now. There was an IEA in Chicago that all she did was whine about why she should be a special agent, and she resented the fact that “Customs management” took over Immigration. Well, she did finally get picked up as an agent, and the first thing she did was go out on a six monthe maternity leave; when she came back all she did was sit at her desk and knit, or make phone calls, sounds like good management material. Don’t get me wrong, Customs had their share of clowns, but now coupled with the majority of Immigration clowns, the agency is a joke. And, by the way, anyone who thinks that tattoes, piercings, long hair, makes you a good street/undercover agent, well you are definitely wrong, and by the way, why would you be advertising that on this blog, it just demonstrates that you don’t know what you are talking about, and probably have some mental notion that being “u/c” is just like they show it on t.v. Fact is, unless you’re doing small time street buys, which at the federal level is a waste of time, the cartel guys (managers at the dope dealer level, the ones crminal investigators should be after) don’t even dress like that, they are clean cut, nicely dressed, and some are even educated, ie., they are at the level that any criminal investigator would be anxious to take down. So, Immigration, I hope you continue doing such a great job processing your illegal aliens: 1990 estimated 5 million illegals; 2010 estimated 15 million illegals. Great job immigration clowns.

QTD on January 10, 2011 at 4:47 pm

QDT has it half right; the INS SAs are a bunch of clowns. The part he left out was that the Customs SAs were always a bunch of wanabes. ICE just like its predecessors is all pseudo law enforcement agency. Let’s face it all your cases can be handled by more efficient agencies. If the government wanted to cut the deficit, it should RIF all ICE employees. The Border Patrol should be expanded to handle the Immigration work even in the interior. The Customs work should be spread to the real agencies such as DEA, who know what they are doing. FLETC is a Junior College, Quantico is the real deal.

I hear the local mall is hiring. With your exerience with Gucci handbags you should fit right in.

BPtoDEA on January 11, 2011 at 7:12 pm

BPtoDEA obviously doesn’t know what he/she’s talking about, Have you ever worked for Customs, conducted a criminal investigation, prosecuted a case with the local AUSA? It doesn’t sound like you did, sounds like you spent all your time, if you were in the BP, cutting sign, and “busting wets”, not much to be proud of. And, by the way, corporate security, the professional ones, would rather hire a Customs agent with a varied background in investigating Customs law vciolations, than a BP/INS clown, just look around, if you are now an agent, most are FBI, Customs, Secret Service. INS, well they just retire off into the sunset…too bad.

QTD on January 12, 2011 at 1:29 pm

I was never an INS/CUSTOMS/ICE clown, I work as an SA for a real agency. I love reading this site and seeing you idiots tearing each other apart. ICE will never be a credible agency with you clowns working there.

Like I said you have a future at the Mall Paul Blat.

BPtoDEA on January 12, 2011 at 4:37 pm

DEA don’t you have to go pick up a load stopped by the State Patrol that you can adopt federal and take credit for. If you were to ask almost any AUSA they would tell you that ICE prosecutes more cases federally than any other agency. Including yours.

Stop Whining

Stop Whining on January 12, 2011 at 8:03 pm

BPTODEA is one of these a$$clowns that just got hired on as an 1811 within the past year or two and IS that two year wonder, and now believes he’s earned the right to bust on other agencies… Yeah, go prosecute a case someone else seized for ya… From what Ive seen and experienced, never have been too impressed with DEA… THe guy is obviously new if he feels the need to throw out how superior Quantico is… Ooooooh… You’re that guy at a bar with a bunch of LEO types who constantly has to talk about work, and how many cases this and how many cases that.. Prob have a goatee, wears 5.11 cargos in your off time, and wears the bowling team shirt when your working “undercover” doing address checks.. Idiot.

ICEPICK on January 12, 2011 at 8:46 pm

ICE agents, if you can get out now before is too late, it will get worst not better; Customs & INS merged 2003, and is still going downhill.

JOE on January 13, 2011 at 11:57 pm

QTD,
why don’t you get your facts straight before you go bashing the entire Chicago SAC Office and while you are at it, please let us know who you are. Because the way I see it if you think you got it so right you should be able to face all these people you are trashing, be a man(or a woman) about it and tell it to their face, after all, it is the truth right???
On the same note I see some of your posts are during the work week and in the middle of the day, so I take it you are working really hard, going after those criminals right, getting those prosecutions accepted by the AUSA, by the way how many have you had lately, just curious? So if you are as hard of a worker as you claim to be you shouldn’t have any problems revealing yourself, because after all there are no sceletons in your closet. So I am anxiously waiting for that post with your name to come.
With love your co-worker

nobody on January 18, 2011 at 11:50 am

Guys,
We’re all in this together. May I suggest that we all just do our jobs the best way we can and respect each other for the efforts put forth. With so many departments now under one central umbrella, it will now require more cooperation than ever to achieve our goals. Professionalism rules!

JMFCPT on January 19, 2011 at 12:18 am

Here comes another useless I-9 inspection of 1,000 businesses nationwide. It goes to show you that James Dinkins has no power to run HSI. Since he promised no more of these large I-9 inspections, which makes it impossible for the agents to conduct criminal investigations, this will be the second large inspection since the fall of 2010. The Notice of Inspections will be servered on February 15th to 1,000 businesses nationwide so HQ can make a big PR statement. The SAC offices received the memo on February 3rd and are required to identify the companies by the 8th, with a weekend in between and the snow storm that struck most of the United States this past week. Although the SACs have complained to HQ that these initiatives are disruptive to ongoing criminal investigations, HQ keeps forcing them onto the field agents. It’s almost like HQ doesn’t want the field to conduct any criminal investigations, rather they would prefer to disrupt businesses, cause them to spend thousands of dollars hiring attorneys, and push the illegal aliens to other businesses instead of removing them. I’m not saying that the solution is to round up every illegal alien and deport them, but we are just spinning our wheels here at the tax payer’s expense. No good has come of these inspections and no criminal investigations have been developed because of this initiative by HQ.

Angry HSI Special Agent on February 5, 2011 at 11:20 am

Although the video appears to be professionally produced and probably cost a pretty penny – I felt that it was overly long and the soundtrack needed some improvement.

Submitted for your viewing pleasure

http://vimeo.com/18500297

Nigel Brooks on February 16, 2011 at 6:01 pm

Sure Glad President Obama is on the Job!http://www.gastongazette.com/news/gang-55567-federal-arrested.html

bob on March 2, 2011 at 12:55 pm

Just got word that they’re replacing the previously issued ICE raid jackets, hats and shirts with HSI raid jackets, hats and shirts. That plus the previously issued new badges and creds must have cost the taxpayers quite a bundle.

ICEd on March 6, 2012 at 5:17 pm

i just wanted two state a fact. why is it that everybody is so comitted two mexican’s getting job’s in the united states. and focused on imagration. when we let all the bosnian’s in and german’s and croations’ and fk chinamins’ in AMERICA. but dont’ pay mind two them being here with no passport and fillipinos. all over the fk place but why not go after all then ilegal’s they all arn’e hare leagaly neither let’s get the fact’s straight it’s a big money bueisness. with letting bosnian’s come two america. becuase they say there from a WOREN TOREN country. so we have two help them and give them company ownership GRANT’S and school GRANTS’ two better there live’s. bullshit bleeding hatr’s look at all other countrie’s mexico/columbia/africa/ but we wont help them why you give and help all these bosnian fucks’ that don’t earn a dime two be here getting free bee’s from the goverment. it must be because of skin color. is why. i say if your going two go after poor mexacan’s all the time go after all the other eligal imagint’s come on let’s be fair about it. wake up smell the coffie clean up your own backyard first. that’s in sutch termoil instead of focusing on eligal imagration. it’s a double standerd. thats all just like women getting everything for free and men kiss there ass. and they get buy with more than a man.

salvatore LaBarbera on October 30, 2012 at 12:50 pm

Come on now, after more than 10 years, a full decade we are still bashing and beating that dead horse called the merger. There is still the anger and hate demonstrated by legacy Customs folks against their equally hateful legacy INS folks. It would be interesting to see if one just one S.A. would step up to the plate and do an investigation from start to finish without the help of any other Agent. I would love to see that. HSI promotes Agents not by what they have done but by who they suck up to. ON BOTH LAGACY SIDES! Don’t pat yourself on the back boys, you still aint shit. Till then keep writing it is fun to read!

S A IamAflunky on May 2, 2014 at 2:53 pm