NWV News - Border Patrol agents slam their superiors and Obama Administration

BORDER PATROL AGENTS SLAM THEIR SUPERIORS AND OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

By NWV News Writer Jim Kouri
Posted 1:00 AM Eastern
January 20, 2012
© 2012 NewsWithViews.com

"Someone needs to take a very serious look at what happened to some of the high-ranking folks David Aguilar promoted. Why did they suddenly "retire" and why was one fired? Were they worthy of positions of high public trust?" said members of the National Border Patrol Patrol Council.

While the politicians and activists in Washington, DC and throughout the nation condemn the Arizona immigration enforcement law (SB1070), the news media has failed to cover the reaction by the people who patrol U.S. borders on a daily basis.

"We are receiving reports that Eric Holder and DOJ have signaled that they are challenging SB1070. If this development wasn't so sad, it would be funny," according to the membership of the National Border Patrol Council Local 2544, which represents U.S. Border Patrol agents in Tucson, Arizona.

While lamenting the disinterest in the Obama Administration for border security and immigration enforcement, Local 2544 officials said, "Now, [Attorney General Eric] Holder and DOJ [Department of Justice] apparently have found resources to challenge SB1070. This is an obvious political ploy, and Americans should be outraged if they actually go after a state for trying to do something about the out-of-control illegal immigration mess."

"How many times have Americans heard lawmakers, mayors, governors, and immigration advocates when asked about Arizona enforcing immigration law, claim that their police officers aren't authorized or trained to enforce immigration laws?" asks a career law enforcement officer from New York.

"Well, either these government leaders are too ignorant to hold office or they're out-and-out lying to the American people," said former NYPD detective Sid Franes.

Aguilar toured the country a few years ago attending Border Patrol agent musters at stations. A subordinate Chief Patrol Agent touring with him hurled one raunchy joke after another at women and overweight people, while Aguilar stood by laughing. Aguilar then showered this CPA with praise while sternly asking the agents in attendance "Does anyone want to challenge him?" according to the NBPC.

The CPA doing the stand-up comedy routine for Aguilar was quite fond of himself and bragged about his exploits at length. The head of the U.S. Border Patrol, David Aguilar, told agents that it wasn't their main job to arrest illegal aliens, and that they shouldn't "lower" ourselves to such a status.

He repeated over and over "You are NOT immigration officers." Aguilar used offensive language while promoting himself. The real goal of his nationwide tour was to run the union down. We have audio recordings of Mr. Aguilar and some of the jokes and language he thought was so funny.

If referring to female anatomy in crude terms in front of female employees and agents to make a point about how tough you are is acceptable these days, then Aguilar is certainly worthy of all the promotions he keeps getting.

Any rank-and-file agent who spoke so crudely in front of a group of employees would be disciplined. Instead, David Aguilar, who is supposed to be setting the example for all this "professionalism" and "honor" that the Agency constantly hammers us about is glorified by "greatest hits" videos (of course, all the offensive and crude parts were edited out of these slick videos).

The fact that Aguilar not only survives such unprofessional and raunchy displays unscathed, but is promoted over and over again, is simply unbelievable. Aguilar has repeatedly been denounced in historic and unprecedented nationwide votes of no confidence by rank-and-file agents.

The Immigration and Nationality Act includes section 287(g), added in 1996, that grants local and state jurisdictions the ability to enforce immigration law with proper training and supervision by federal authorities. In 2003, Alabama became the second state in the nation to participate in the program by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Department of Homeland Security. Florida was the first state to participate, in 2002, and later Arizona's Sheriff Joe Arpaio sent his deputies for training.

However, recently Arpaio and his department were stripped of their authority by the Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

While many politicians claim their police officers are not allowed to enforce immigration laws, their excuse for ignoring illegal aliens is a canard. Too few police agencies are taking advantage of the training offered by ICE and DHS.

"Partnerships with our state and local law enforcement colleagues have always been essential to our fight against illegal immigration,” said Paul Kilcoyne, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's deputy director for investigations.

"This innovative and cooperative effort allows our state troopers to become force multipliers for America's border security mission. We always welcome those who enter our country legally, but we won't stand idly by and do nothing when we catch illegal aliens, some who have committed crimes like armed robbery, rape and drug smuggling, in our state,” he said.

The 287(g) program, one of ICE’s top partnership initiatives, allows a state and local law enforcement entity to enter into a partnership with ICE, under a joint Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), in order to receive delegated authority for immigration enforcement within their jurisdictions. The 287(g) program has emerged as one of the agency’s most successful and popular partnership initiatives as more state and local leaders have come to understand how a shared approach to immigration enforcement can benefit their communities.

The 287(g) program allows a state and local law enforcement entity to enter into a partnership with ICE, under a joint Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), in order to receive delegated authority for immigration enforcement within their jurisdictions. The 287(g) program has emerged as one of the Agency's most successful and popular partnership initiatives as more state and local leaders have come to understand how a shared approach to immigration enforcement can benefit their communities.

The 287(g) program is one component of the ICE ACCESS (Agreements of Cooperation in Communities to Enhance Safety and Security) program, which provides local law enforcement agencies an opportunity to team with ICE to combat specific challenges in their communities.

ICE developed the ACCESS program in response to the widespread interest from local law enforcement agencies who have requested ICE assistance through the 287(g) program, which trains local officers to enforce immigration law as authorized through section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Terrorism and criminal activity are most effectively combated through a multi-agency/multi-authority approach that encompasses federal, state and local resources, skills and expertise. State and local law enforcement play a critical role in protecting our homeland because they are often the first responders on the scene when there is an incident or attack against the United States. During the course of daily duties, they will often encounter foreign-born criminals and immigration violators who pose a threat to national security or public safety.

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The cross-designation between ICE and state and local patrol officers, detectives, investigators and correctional officers allows these local and state officers necessary resources and latitude to pursue investigations relating to violent crimes, human smuggling, gang/organized crime activity, sexual-related offenses, narcotics smuggling and money laundering. In addition, participating entities are eligible for increased resources and support in more remote geographical locations.

Officer Selection Requirements

Participating officers in the 287(g) program must meet the following requirements:

• U.S. citizenship
• Current background investigation completed
• Minimum two years experience in current position
• No disciplinary actions pending