Internal report excoriates border officials for creating their own security teams

The Hill ^

[ameribbean expat]

An internal Homeland Security Department review has found immigration and border patrol executives diverted agents, money and government vehicles to create their own personal security details without any legislative authority or proof of safety risks.

The department's internal watchdog, the inspector general, reported the "questionable" security details cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and quoted field agents who said their bosses created them specifically for convenience and not to deter threats.

"Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) - have created their own internal authorizations for executive protection details, staffed them, and funded them, without clear legal authority," the report released Thursday evening said.

"Because these security details incur substantial monetary and personnel costs, provide transportation and logistical services not necessarily tied to any demonstrated security concern, and are often authorized by those receiving the services, these details give the appearance to some observers of being more related to executive convenience and status than protection," it added.

[ameribbean expat]

Some animals are more equal than others.

[Regulator]

Normally I’d agree...but they are targets for the Mexican mafias that have NO boundaries.

ANY BP agent is a target for those animals

[gaijin]

The story about how things went off the rails at the Washington Naval Yard is pretty amazing:

They had a whole fleed of fake cops cars and Miami Vice chase boats, recruited platoons of fake cops, too, totally untrained.

They hid all the stuff from audits.

Sounded like something from maybe Guatemala, or somewhere like that.

“Do it if ya got money and it seems cool..!!”

Like that.

[ameribbean expat]

So are the rest of us.

[blueplum]

If it can be substantiated that it was for ‘convenience and status’ then name names and take the appropriate disciplinary action. Wasting assets is wasting assets. But an ‘internal report’ can lean a few ways depending on who’s writing it. So, let’s have an IG look at things.

[NonValueAdded]

So, let’s have an IG look at things.

They did. From the article:

The department's internal watchdog, the inspector general, reported the "questionable" security details ...

[jim35]

Why single out CBP and ICE? Let’s look at all our Federal Agencies. Like the State Department, Defense Dep’t, EPA, just go down the list. How many billions are spent for executive security, for those who just use it for convenience and prestige?