By Debbie Schlussel
**** SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATES ****
Many of you, especially my Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent readers, have been e-mailing me and asking why incompetent, unqualified ICE Chieftess Julie L. Myers a/k/a “The ICE Princess” is still “on the job.”
After all, the Senate rejected her nomination and returned it to the President. And I reported on rumors from high-ranking ICE agents that The ICE Princess was to resign between Christmas and New Years. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and she is still on the job.

Julie Myers: ICE’s Veruca Salt-esque Embarrassment Continues
(Julie Myers Bag Lady by David Lunde/Lundesigns)
Why? Well, as I’ve reported, it has always been The ICE Princess’ and the Bush Admin’s position that the President’s absurd recess appointment of ICE’s own Veruca Salt was good until the beginning of 2008 or 2009 because of the timing of the recess appointment. As I also reported, Newsweek claimed her appointment is good until the end of 2007, but that she might go the way of John Bolton (unfortunately, we lost him, and we’re still apparently stuck with here).
Still, others have said she should legally be out of there, and for now, under the rules regarding nominations, cannot legally collect a salary, by their estimation. Wrote one agent:

I researched recess appointments on the Library of Congress website and concluded that MYERS’ appointment expires when the Congress adjourns “sine die” which I believe has already happened for this Congress. She can be reappointed to another recess appointment but cannot be paid during the second appointment. SO hopefully she is GONE. BUT, just as she is a joke so is the whole agency! The entire structure needs an overhaul. Too many attorneys (sorry) running law enforcement functions leads to no results.
Not that I think anyone of substance will be appointed. What experienced law enforcement official would take on this mess? It’s a losing proposition. I expect that we will keep getting these low level former Assistant U.S. Attorneys who will try to enhance their
careers by getting a judgeship or a United States Attorneys job. Or the ultimate a “K” street job. The lawyers are screwing up all of the
federal law enforcement agencies. They are so afraid of any criticism nothing gets done!

Either way, you would think that a person who was never qualified or wanted for a job, is roundly hated and disrespected by her “colleagues” and employees, and was just rejected by the U.S. Senate without even a vote being held, would get the hint . . . AND LEAVE!!!! But you would be wrong. After all, Veruca Salt Myers chose herself for the job, despite loud, universal objections because, hey, she wanted it. Don’t look for her to leave easily, quickly, or gracefully–as she should have done during this past holiday season.
It’s up to the new Senate to take the reins and dispute her continued presence at Homeland Security. Unfortunately, so far, no dice.
On a related note, the ICE Princess, we hear, figures she can bask in the short-lived PR glow of the Swift meat packing plant raids. But agents tell us that well over $1 million of our tax money was wasted on the raids. Some agents tell us they were put up for a week prior to and just after the raids and spent most of the week partying and visiting bars in locations like Denver (that’s where Abu Moskowitz’s agents spent their tax-paid week-long vacay–vacation, to those of you who don’t get my slang references).
One agent in the know (the agent is involved in some budget-related and management matters) estimates that with all of the money spent on travel, per diems for food and drink, hotels, salaries for the week, the Swift raids may have even cost as much as $2 million in tax money, with very little to show for it, because few charges–if any–will result.
Writes another agent:

The agents and other support staff left for the “raids” on Friday, December 8, 2006. Most went to Denver and deployed from there. Anyway the info on the latest joke “raid” (hyped for the press) is MYERS authorized the spending of about one million taxpayer dollars to send 900 agents to do this “roundup.” Joke is all of these guys will most probably be let go in a day or two and NO CRIMINAL charges will be brought against anyone. Remember the big round-up at the pallet company last spring? Any charges yet? NOPE.

(Actually a couple hundred from Swift were charged. See UPDATE, below.)
One agent points out that many Mexican illegal aliens go home around that time (the time of the Swift & Co. raids) for Christmas holidays, anyway, so The ICE Princess, Veruca Myers, gave them a free trip, courtesy of . . . you!
So there’s bad news and bad news: The ICE Princess is still there (calling it, “on the job,” seems so misleading). And she continues to waste millions in taxpayer money for her own PR campaign. Remember the silly ’50s sex-ed style video she made of herself? More of that coming, for now.
So much for a woman who claimed her sole qualification was that she would introduce “fiscal responsibility” into ICE. Ha!
When will she get the hint . . . and leave? Hard to tell. But not likely, given past selfish ad absurdum behavior.
**** UPDATE: Well, thankfully, one of the ICE agents quoted above incorrectly predicted that no charges would be filed in the Swift cases. Reader John points out that 220 of the aliens were charged with identity theft and other crimes.
**** UPDATE #2: Well, it appears the cost of the Swift & Co. raids is even higher than earlier estimated. Writes an ICE agent:

Debbie, just read the latest on the Ice Princess, you forgot to mention that, in addition to the millions spent during the Swift raid, alot of the agents got comp days off when they returned because the ICE brass screwed them out of overtime that was promised when they all worked on Sat and Sun.