May 11, 2007, - 2:42 pm

Schlussel Spurs Peppermint Patty Memo: “ICE, We’re Doin’ a Heckuva Job”

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Because so many Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents read this site–and are justifiably demoralized over Homeland Security designating them as the Un-Law Enforcement, as well as DHS efforts to dismantle Customs functions of ICE–ICE Director of Investigations Marcy “Black Ass” Forman a/k/a “Peppermint Patty” has issued a 7-page “ICE, We’re Doin’ a Heckuva Job” whitewash memo to all ICE agents, in response.
So many angry agents have contacted me about it, that I’ve compiled this amalgamation of their comments:

The insult from ICE “leadership” and The ICE Princess continues, and the knife is dug in deeper.

Seems like the little morale meeting you wrote about the other day wasn’t a meeting to see what was wrong. Nope. It was a meeting to see how they could insult us more. Oh and it was a meeting to let The ICE Princess, Julie Myers, hear the lie that there is no morale problem at Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
To pile on this fiction, “Peppermint Patty” issued a 7-page “You’re Doing a Good Job” memo to Headquarters and all ICE agents in the field. It highlighted all of the Office of Investigations (her office) “successes.” It was a direct result of what you’ve been writing lately about what’s going on at ICE on your website.
Basically, it says she can’t see why moral is bad because ICE has made all these morale improvements, and it must be a misunderstanding that morale is bad and we all hate it here. In the memo, she cites all types off statistics on how ICE isn’t messed up, and we should just keep sucking it up. Of course, she cites all these supposed “working groups” made of up of Special Agents in Charge (her cronies and yes-people) that have allegedly been “addressing morale issues.” Yet, not one agent in ICE has had input into these “groups.” Do the groups even exist? Doubtful.
Of course, it was written in the typical PC fashion of “You’re doing a great job, and because of our great job, these are the acomplishments. And there is no problem. And we are doing so well. So keep up the good work, and things will continue to improve like they have been.
To add sarcasm to this email: Hey Agents, nothing’s wrong, suck it up! Oh, and by the way, you’re doing a good job! Sad part is that the agents are working hard, and look how we get treated. A stupid memo 4 years later–only because there’s been bad publicity from you and in the paper. Just proof that nobody cares!

Yes, ICE “leadership” refuse to examine what they are doing wrong, so that agent morale, satisfaction, and production will improve.
No wonder the illegal alien tidal wave continues increase in size exponentially.
Believe me, I don’t enjoy being down on the agency and its “leadership.” The street agents and many supervisors are good people. I’d like to see them be able to effectively and efficiently investigate and enforce immigration AND customs laws.
It’s the people at the top that need to go. And I’ll continue to point that out the infinite times that it’s warranted.




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10 Responses

You drove the nail home on this one Debbie! It’s their standard S.O.P. to send out “blow sunshine up your ass” memo to let everyone know how great a job they’ve deluded themselves into thinking they’re doing but failing to realize they are the cause of it because they’ve been living the pipe dream too long. Morale has suffered for a long time and continues to sink because the attitude in HQ is as long as upper management is happy, they don’t care if anyone below them is or isn’t.
They can’t solve the problem because there are too many political cupcakes up there, with no experience, making BS policy decisions about issues they have no knowledge, therefore, they couldn’t fix them if had any intestinal fortitude to do so.
I am one of those agents who works hard, stays diligent to the task, and is fed up with all this crap. I adapt, improvise, and overcome to effect the mission and I’m not too damned concerned with whose little messkit in HQ I decide to dump in!

1shot1kill on May 11, 2007 at 3:29 pm

What is wrong with morale in DHS and ICE? Well first off there is the little issue of DHS being created to be the anti-terrorism agency yet the FBI does all terrorism investigations. Then there is the MaxHR issue wherein the Administration is telling us that we are so special that most of us donít deserve to be treated fairly. Who can forget the issue where our senior manages continually attempt to shed our core enforcement responsibilities as they relate to narcotics, strategic, currency violations and navigation. As the investigative arm of DHS we continue to yield our authorities and investigative jurisdiction at the ports of entry to CBP, Border Patrol, FBI, ATF, DEA, Secret Service and Coast Guard. And there is the final insult of ICE not being recognized by DHS as being a law enforcement entity. How about our SAC’s and ASAC’s being promoted based in their ability to do PowerPointís and other secretarial tasks from HQS positions. Look at the senior managers in Detroit, Dallas, Denver, LA, Boston, and El Paso as examples of folks who donít know how upload a ROI or work a set of hand cuffs. Finally, we are our worst enemy as we continue to shun the work of our legacy agencies within our own offices under the banner of either dead agency or one that has been destroyed.
Why do our senior managers continue to supervise the vivisection of this agency with the cool guidance of a County Corner?
All we ask is that we are allowed to do our jobs as criminal investigators. Let admin arrestees be processed by non-law enforcement types – DRO. Give us the tools and the support to do what we are trained to do and you wonít have to worry about morale.
How do we fix these issues? A good start is to define the agency with a mission statement that addresses our abilities and statutory authorities. Then reorganize the agency into admin and enforcement functions. OI SA’s are the folks who should be out in the street making arrests and seizing contraband and property. DRO should be just that. They process aliens, detain them and remove them. Dump FPS-they add nothing to ICE’s function as a border agency. Keep grades commensurate with the job functions. OI Special Agents as journeyman 13’s – IEA’s as 12’s. Establish a career track that mandates no second line supervisory role without first line supervision at the field office level. Rotate first line supervisors into and out of HQS on a regular basis and be committed to the program. Move them around HQS so they can be exposed to several elements of the management of the agency. Those managers who donít know what they are doing – see previous list – should be warehoused in some HQS liaison role and competent people promoted.

FUBAR ? on May 11, 2007 at 5:59 pm

You guys are so thick. If they fix ICE, how will they get all the illegal aliens and drugs into the country, duhhh?

steve ventry on May 12, 2007 at 12:31 am

Here’s what’s ABSOLUTELY amazing …
For the last few weeks, now, ICE-OI has been rife with rumors regarding the future of the agency (some of them broken here on this website); among them:
– An alleged meeting between President Bush, DHS
Secretary Chertoff and ICE Ass’t Secretary
Myers regarding their future and the future of
ICE (reported to me by a source at HQ and
coroborated independently);
– An alleged tasking to HQ staff to scour
personnel files to see what ICE Special Agents
have a four year college degree and/or CITPO
certification (Hmmmmm …);
– And, as broken here first, the tasking to HQ
staff asking them to identify ICE’s role in
Federal law enforcement, and what it would like
to DIVEST itself of (HUH?!).
And the memo? NOT A SINGLE MENTION OF WHAT OUR FUTURE IS OR WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE AGENTS. All this memo was, as was correctly pointed out, was a “blow sunshine up our ass” and “you’re all doing a helluva job” whitewash to divert attention from the painful reality of what REALLY appears to be coming in short order – the disintegration of ICE and the fact they have ABSOLUTELY NO F’ING IDEA WHAT THEY’RE GOING TO DO WITH THE ICE AGENTS VICTIMIZED BY THEIR INCOMPETENCE AND INEPTITUDE. In short – there is NO rumor control right now by ICE HQ management, and this is leading to wild speculation as to what pieces are going to be left for the agents to pick up when ICE implodes.
A current rumor is that the Feebs want to take over Strat and Financial investigations and absorb those legacy agents involves in those tasks (most likely legacy Customs, with four year degrees and CITP certified). Frankly, if that’s true, I hope to be a Feeb in short order – they have the juice and the ear of the President/Congress, while ICE is being thrown under the bus. I know they say to be careful what you wish for; however, I’d rather have some resolution to my future career and a clearly defined mission, than to deal with the pain of uncertainty day in, day out, like we have for the last four years – it’s unprecedented, and shameful.

4EVERCUSTOMS on May 12, 2007 at 9:25 am

I got that 7 page bullshit memo. Let’s see, where do I start? “120 days temporary assignments” budgeted for acting GS? Uhhh., they don’t pay them the GS-14 pay. They move them out just before they hit the 120 day mark so they don’t have to pay them. “New cars”? I have not seen any agent driving a car under 5 years old or with less than 70000 miles. Over 100 agents promoted to GS14? Who? I have not seen any.

SDGOICE on May 13, 2007 at 12:43 am

Old fan new participant. Keep the pressure on.

MigraRising on May 13, 2007 at 10:57 am

I’m one of those senior guys that plans on going out at the end of this year, the first year I’m eligible. Morale is seriously bad in my SAC office, worse than I’ve ever seen. There are lots of reasons for this but let me just comment on a couple from an old guy’s standpoint. Our SAC seems to hate senior agents. There are several instances in the past year of senior agents being reassigned to groups they don’t want to be in. I think the message is that if he’ll do it to a senior guy he won’t hesitate to do it to a younger agent. I would like to hang around a few more years and make some use of the expertise I gathered over all these years. But that just doesn’t seem to be an option under this regime.

longshanks on May 13, 2007 at 5:21 pm

I’m happy to see others have jumped on this message. I couldn’t believe it when I read it. Moral is up? Who is he kidding?
I couldn’t be more thankful for my job. With 14 years of Fed time, I can’t really imagine doing much else. However while I’m thankful for it, after the DHS creation, I can honestly say that I really don’t like my job much anymore. The concept of DHS was fantastic, but its execution was lousy to say the least. All the things that were suppose to be fixed like information sharing, are now 100% worse than ever before. And what in the hell is up with the distinct separation between CBP and ICE? That is retarded!
Gone are the days you actually had job satisfaction for performing your duties. I regularly talk to alot of SSA’s around the country and nobody is happy with things the way they are. Best case senario, DHS somehow splits ICE back into its legacy branches. Worst case, the current administration tries to save face and force DHS to work.
Either way, retirement can’t come soon enough.

HardChargr on May 14, 2007 at 12:28 pm

I work in San Diego ICE and Debbie, you ought to ask why the new DSAC in LA got her job. Gee, wonder if it’s because she used to work with the LA SAC in San D and HQ???????????????
I HEARD SHE IS A 33-YEAR-OLD, UNQUALIFIED FOPP (FRIEND OF PEPPERMINT PATTY).
DEBBIE SCHLUSSEL

SDGOICE on May 14, 2007 at 7:52 pm

Boo Hoo Hoo. You bunch of whiney little brats!! I was a street cop for ten years before I came over to ICE, and I never thought I could have so much fun or make so much money in law enforcment. Sure, I don’t blame the legacy Customs guys for being upset that they were smashed together with Immigration. But get over it or GET OUT!!! If you think the grass is greener on the other side, then go for it. The only complaint I have about ICE is all the complainers.

lsellers on May 14, 2007 at 10:30 pm

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