Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ICE) Voted One Of The Worst Places To Work In Federal Government

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, also known as ICE, often gets a bad rap from the media for their treatment of immigrants and this year's record-setting deportation numbers. But now, it looks like they're getting a bad rap from their 20,000+ employees as well.

According to a recent study surveying employees of all federal government agencies, ICE ranked 222nd of 240 government agencies in overall employee satisfaction. The agency received an overall score of 52.5 out of 100 from the study conducted by the Partnership for Public Service. The agency's employee satisfaction rating from 2011 was 3.9 points lower than the year prior.

But it seems it wasn't a great year in general for the Departmnent of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE's mother agency. Four other of DHS's sub-agencies actually fell below ICE's dismal ranking on the same employee satisfaction survey.

The heart of employee dissatisfaction with ICE fell under the categories of "Effective Leaders", ranking 220 out of 229 agencies measured, and "Family Friendly Culture and Benefits", ranking 223rd out of 228.

Right wing columnist Debbie Schlussel faults President Obama and Director of ICE John Morton for the ranking.

Schlussel writes on her personal blog that, "After Barack Obama and his administration constantly attacking ICE agents and stopping them from doing their jobs ... I’m actually surprised the agency was as high as 222nd and not dead last."

A.J. Irwin, a retired border patrol agent of Latino descent, patrolled the border in New Mexico for more than 20 years. He says working for ICE was very hard at times, and that it even led him to change his stance on the border and immigration enforcement system.

In an interview with The Huffington Post, Irwin said that empathy for those who cross the border has led him to advocate for alternatives to forced deportations. He claims to have convinced judges to spare many immigrants from deportation, even flouting his chain of command in order to do so.

After President Obama deported more undocumented immigrants than any President before him, Irwin concluded that the tenets of compassion, common sense and discretion should be at the core of a healthy immigration policy.

"The small percentage of the aliens who illegally enter the country or enter legally and become illegally present are not a threat to anyone," he said in an email. "Let's focus on the criminals, terrorists, and bad people."

According to the employee satisfaction survey, fifteen percent of the 20,000+ workers have been at the agency for three years or less, and between 2005 and 2010 the agency lost an estimated 845 employees.

Comments

[Bunny Olesen]

11:29 AM on 06/20/2012

WOW this comment: The small percentage of the aliens who illegally enter the country or enter legally and become illegally present are not a threat to anyone," he said in an email. "Let's focus on the criminals, terrorists, and bad people."

THAT COMMENT is the most horrible awful lie I've EVER heard and in every possible way. #1 the percentage of people illegally here now outweighs those here legally. #2 gangs like MS13 and all those drug runners killing people in public parks in AZ etc, they are ALL ILLEGAL so how are they NOT DANGEROUS? In ONE YEAR ALONE about 4 years ago they estimate 2 million illegals crossed over that year. WHAT IS THIS TINY PERCENTAGE I HEAR OF? A LIE.
There is an estimated 250,000 serial sexual predators in the U.S. illegally at any time and the average age of their victims is 11 (yes eleven). An average 4,000 ppl a year are murdered by illegals and another around 4,000 are killed by drunk drivers, here illegally and usually with no license and a string of DWIs behind them.
BOLLOX

[JDINTX]

11:36 PM on 02/28/2012

vPerhaps, the ever changing rules within ICE and the mixed messages received by the rank and file, might contribute to its abysmal ranking.
DHS has now announced they will no longer certify any additional law enforcement officals under the very successful 287(g) program. This program allowed certified deprtments to almost instantly obtain the immigration status of people they arrested and suspect being illegal.
Instituted under Bush, DHS certified 60 agencies in two years. The Obama Administration has certified 8 in three years.
In June 2010, DHS changed the rule by insisting localities proceed with time consuming and expensive prosecutions before turning the illegal over to ICE, basically disincentivizing localities to even use the system at all. Now, they've ended any further certifications.
Anyone still fooled by the claim by this Administration that they have ratcheted up deportations, just isn't paying attention. The Administration is using any and every rule change possible to achieve just the opposite...

[mater]

08:41 AM on 02/27/2012

I have sympathy and empathy for the Hispanic people coming to America. I really do, but, they are so despised and discriminated against and their salaries, if they can even get work and housing are so fraught with problems, I have to wonder why the Mexican people don't decide to stay in Mexico and somehow try to work to change in things in their own country. I have read recently about cooperative oil drilling efforts with the U.S. in the Gulf. I have no idea how difficult or scary things are for the Mexican people in Mexico, but not coming here means Americans have to clean their own hotel rooms, pick their own veg and fruit, do all the other yucky jobs they accuse the Hispanics of screwing them out of. I think just not being here, by the millions, puts the burden of proof right back on all the immigration screamers. In the mean time, doing the immigration process, abiding by the law, being able to be here legally, to own property, to vote, has to be the only solution which is honest and practical. Our nation is not any longer the one of "your tired and poor', and the militias and guns and drugs and exploitation and murder of people on both sides only strengthens cases of the agitated. There is no arrogance in my words, only hope that Mexico can raise itself up and be a nation of pride and productivity where its people are safe.

[JDINTX]

11:44 PM on 02/28/2012

Maybe a little sympathy for the people who do wait 5-7 years to gain legal entry to our country. The US accepts more legal immigrants every year,than any country in the world.
Put simply, there are no jobs in Mexico, a highly corrupt country dominated by a very small, very rich ruling class. The oil business in Mexico is owned by the govt, and by the way, manages to LOSE money !
People will continue to stream here where state and federal benefits can be obtained that are greater than a basic salary is in Mexico.
You are right in saying Mexico must solve their own problems to keep their citizens home. Just don't bet on that happening in our lifetimes.....

[mater]

04:59 AM on 02/29/2012

For a while, I taught citizenship skills and English at a community center class. I am aware that the process is difficult and expensive, and that there are no jobs in Mexico. I acknowledge all your valid points, but breaking the law of any nation is just wrong. There's right and there's wrong. We teach it to our kids--we enforce it in our nation. The people who come across are fleeing into HELL here on so many levels. I don't want them to be hurt, exploited or abused.

[inthedesert]

01:54 PM on 02/26/2012

I don't see the purpose of this story at all other than to, once again, cast doubts about our immigration laws and their enforcement. I would imagine that many people in large organizations are "dissatisfied" with how things are run. LOL. It's shocking and truly scary that we have Border Patrol agents who, apparently, do not even believe in protecting America and think that the very laws they have sworn to uphold are "unfair" to illegals. It's almost unbelievable. I'll bet many agents who are "of Latino" descent merely look the other way when they see a pack of illegal Mexicans making their way into America. Even with the large number that BO has been deporting back, we cannot keep up with the new ones arriving every day. What a mess.

[alpina]

04:25 AM on 02/26/2012

Of course ICE ranks low. Can you even imagine how frustrating it would be if you worked at McDonalds lets say and you tried your best to make a great hamburger, which is what they told you your job was and when you were done doing your job, your boss came in and said "you made a great hamburger, now throw it out. We are very upset with you for doing your job, now stop it."

[Rob Paterson1]

11:28 PM on 02/25/2012

la migra lol!

[andreabeth7]

07:21 PM on 02/25/2012

"Irwin said that empathy for those who cross the border has led him to advocate for alternatives to forced deportations. He claims to have convinced judges to spare many immigrants from deportation, even flouting his chain of command in order to do so."

Clearly his personal feelings are interfering with his ability to do his job. He should be moved to another department.

[John fulano de tal]

09:24 AM on 02/26/2012

FYI, A. J. Irwin is retired.

[inthedesert]

01:54 PM on 02/26/2012

Absolutely. This is wrong.

[Brobdingnag]

06:29 PM on 02/25/2012

ICE gets a bad rap from the media for this year's record-setting deportation numbers? Uh, isn't that their job? It's unreasonable to hold that against them but since when are open border proponents reasonable?


"are not a threat to anyone"

How do you know which are which beforehand? Besides, the law about who's authorized to be here doesn't say "but just for those who are threats". Applying the law only to "threats" is de facto unlimited immigration. We are already over our ecological carrying capacity so high immigration is a terrible policy.

[John fulano de tal]

01:46 PM on 02/25/2012

I speak as a retired US Border Patrol/INS/ICE agent.

Failed immigration reflects the insanity of the 1% elite who run our government. Is it any wonder that this trickle-down effect does not demoralize the agents who work there?

ICE - keep those people, boot them out and enforce our laws!
BUT - but don’t mess with the ones who handle our food, make our beds, make our houses, raise our children, groom our horses, groom our lawns, or have dreams like the Dream Act Kids.

Washington touts how American stands for the human/democratic rights of all people, yet turns a blind eye to the US backed Mexican Drug War in Mexico that has left close to 60,000 dead?

Do you remember Reagan’s amnesty program in the mid 1980’s? As agents we knew that 50% or more of applicants submitted fraudulent applications. Yet these cases were rubber stamped through because it was more important for the Amnesty program (and the Reagan administration) to shine than it was for us to enforce the law.

ICE Agents, US taxpayers and the undocumented are all pawns in the1%’s game. Profits from Mexican oil, trade, cheap labor, illegal drugs, drug wars, weapons sales and maquiladoras are more important than our quality of life or even human life itself.

ICE is a reflection of the people who run and elect our government.

We have met the enemy and he is us.

[Shantonu Basu]

05:02 PM on 02/25/2012

This a great post John. What do you think we should do? What's the way forward from here?

[John fulano de tal]

10:35 AM on 02/26/2012

Thank you Shantonu! I am really excited about the occupy movement because they are taking on the 1%’s corporate corruption and control of our government. Similar movements are happening in Mexico too. BTW, I primarily focus upon Mexican immigration because they are our direct neighbors and make up close to 50% of the undocumented in the US. Of course the 1% profiteers of many countries force members of their 99% to migrate to survive too. IMHO all undocumented are members of the 99%.

At some point the occupy movement will affect failed immigration because failed immigration is part of the 1%’s control of government.

I foresee the 99% peacefully occupying the US Mexican border. Interrupting the 1%’s one billion dollars a day trade will get their attention. I also think that all Mexicans who have been persecuted by the US backed drug war should apply for US asylum (protection). That includes the undocumented who are within the US. Does not America supply the demand and weapons that fuel “their” war? How many people (including US agents) have to die before these two governments come to their senses?

Of course US immigration courts have a horrible record of granting Mexicans asylum. Yet what would our government do if it suddenly it had to deal with say one million (costly) Mexican asylum applications? Would the 1% (who runs both governments) suffer worldwide embarrassment and be put in a position to actually address the problem?

[JDINTX]

11:51 PM on 02/28/2012

".....US backed Mexican Drug War" ? Unless you're referring to the ATF funneling guns to the cartels under Fast n Furious, I'd like to know what you mean.
The Reagan amnesty was a mistake on a small scale; the Obama amnesty that would follow his reelection would be one not seen previously anywhere in the world....

[Kurfco]

01:27 PM on 02/25/2012

Some of the ICE folks have found ways to make it a great place to "work" as reported in the LA Times today: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ice-20120225,0,4289443.story

I wonder if the stay at home mom, put on the ICE payroll, also racked up pension benefits. Pretty good gig if you can get it!

[JDINTX]

12:02 AM on 02/29/2012

The saddest part of the story was the fear of employees to report the crime. Whistleblowers are treated with contempt, retaliated against and prosecuted by the same officals they would have to report to.
Look at what happened to ATF agents who blew the whisle on Fast n Furious. Look how the IG who reported Obama confidant, Mayor Kevin Johnson, of Sacramento essentially unable to account for $850,000 of Americorp funds. The IG was fired.....end of investigation.
...btw, the Administration wants to cut the Inspector General's budget by 40%, even though they return 40 times the dollars they spend to the Treasury...Great comment....fanned

[RRoadrunner]

11:23 AM on 02/25/2012

I'm bound to get some flak for this post. As a Latino I can't phantom having a job in which my employers main goal is to dehumanize my own blood line. Whenever I encounter a Latino from ICE, the INS or border patrol agent I always look them in the eyes and think how can they do their jobs? Whenever hear the chant USA, USA I get goose bumps because it has an eerily feeling to a chant that came out of Europe in the 30's and 40's…..

There is no reason this can't be a shared land

[BrokeInSoCal]

11:45 AM on 02/25/2012

LOL - we aren't allowed to chant USA during sporting events because it reminds you of Nazi Germany??? What next, no American flag or the pledge of allegiance?

[FedUpIndian]

07:02 PM on 02/25/2012

Don't give them ideas.

[dtairtime]

02:21 PM on 02/25/2012

Wow

And some people wonder why we have far less assimilation now. One read of this post who seems to think people should somehow put their ethnicity ahead of family, friends, economic well being, environmental issues, law and order and COUNTRY is just plain sad.

So my ethnicity is middle eastern. By YOUR standards I should be backing the terrorists - great logic.

[Crazyhorselady]

11:13 AM on 02/25/2012

I think if Americans did their own work (Labor) the Immigrants would be less inclined to cross over. American runs on a day to day basis because of those Illegal Immigrants who do the work. I'm not for this as I do think they take jobs that Americans need, not to mention the dent they put on our Government assistance programs and Healthcare. There is also a growing demand for proving citizenship which in turn leads to Identity theft... I think the Illegal Immigrant problem will be an ongoing thing until we figure out another way. These Illegal immigrants also feel entitled to take as much as they can, and I've seen this first hand living so close to the Mexican Border.

[rioderek]

04:39 PM on 02/25/2012

No if Mexico was a more functional country their people might stay at home. What other country in the world has its citizens fleeing in mass to the neighboring country on a par with Mexico/mexicants

[inthedesert]

02:01 PM on 02/26/2012

This is true. But it also has to do with the fact that Mexicans think Americans are stupid gringos for giving them jobs and paying for their anchor spawn who then become automatically U.S. citizens and entitled to welfare and schooling at taxpayer's expense.

[CrestedSparrow]

06:20 PM on 02/25/2012

"These Illegal immigrants also feel entitled to take as much as they can, and I've seen this first hand living so close to the Mexican Border."
----------
Like what exactly.

[Mailman]

06:46 PM on 02/25/2012

Why not bomb the homes of cartel leaders because know where they live and where they go. But I guess the government has their own plan which is nothing.

[maxom]

07:16 PM on 02/25/2012

Here may be your answer....

(Washington, D.C July 6, 2010)
Illegal Immigration a $113 Billion a Year Drain on U.S. Taxpayers

LINK
http://www.fairus.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=23198&security=1601&news_iv_ctrl=1741

[medusa1000]

10:56 AM on 02/25/2012

This is not new to ICE. I worked as a supervisory agent when it was still INS. I will never forget the situation which actually pushed me to leave. A colleague supervisor had arrested two undocumented workers and brought them back to the office for processing; a woman and her brother. She had a several month old baby at her home nearby being cared for. My colleague lead her to believe she was being deported on the spot without her child. As a human being and as a mother I was disgusted, offered to take her to the ladies room, and in my limited Spanish explained she was being released that day and she would be with her child shortly. I gave her $20 for formula and took her back into the office for processing. This was just one example on one day. I saw both documented and undocumented persons being treated disrespectfully. Directives from HQ often changed causing low morale among employees who did care about their job performance. I hated the environment, felt I could not make a difference and left.

[CrestedSparrow]

06:21 PM on 02/25/2012

Thank you for your honesty and humanity.

[alpina]

04:31 AM on 02/26/2012

How long did you get? Jail time I mean. As an INS officer, you would have sworn and oath and been aware that it is federal crime and a felony punishable by up to 2 years in jail to aid and abet any individual who knowingly and willfully attempts to avoid legal immigration.

[AZreb]

07:44 AM on 02/25/2012

Naturally there is only ONE viewpoint from ONE ex-employee of the border patrol and naturally it is sympathetic to the illegals. Whatever happened to opposing views?

[nasknit]

01:11 AM on 02/25/2012

"According to the employee satisfaction survey, fifteen percent of the 20,000+ workers have been at the agency for three years or less, and between 2005 and 2010 the agency lost an estimated 845 employees." ...."The heart of employee dissatisfaction with ICE fell under the categories of "Effective Leaders", ranking 220 out of 229 agencies measured". Is anyone surprised?