December 6, 2006, - 12:32 pm
ABSURD: Immigration’s Tax-Paid Week Off For Australian Sports Event
By Debbie Schlussel
Want to get paid for work while you’re spending the week in Australia? If so, then you should join Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Detention and Removal Operations (DRO).
One of our “favorite” ethically-challenged, tax-money wasting “leaders” at ICE, DRO Director John Torres (ICE’s own, evil version of George Costanza) is at it again. Torres–who heads up the efforts to seize illegal alien fugitives, house them in prison, and deport them–is continuing to waste tax money on silly sports pursuits which have nothing to do with rounding up and deporting illegals.
First, he wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars meant for immigraiton enforcement on a time-wasting, week-long confab in Kansas City featuring a $30,000-$50,000 speech by Tommy Lasorda. Now, he’s telling ICE DRO employees they can have a full tax-paid week off if they go to the World Police and Fire Games in Australia in March, 2007 (PDF version of the memo.)
What the heck does a police and fire olympics have to do with immigration enforcement? Will the “Village People” be there? You’ve got police and fire and Aborigines (Indians). The only thing missing are the leatherclad motorcyclist and the construction worker.
When ICE resources are stretched thin enough, when DRO and other ICE agents tell me there isn’t enough money for new agents, oil changes on their government vehicles, or even pens and files to open cases, why are taxpayers funding up to a week of time off for jaunts with law enforcement in Australia? Why does ICE have the money for this, but not enough money for beds for aliens and not nearly enough money for agents to round up alien fugitives?
Guaranteed, agents won’t learn much about Detention & Removal techniques for aliens in Australia. The country is dominated by extremist Muslim aliens who won’t be deported, like the “Uncovered Meat”-deserves-to-be-raped cleric. They don’t deport them. They welcome them. That’s the problem.
Then, there is the just-released Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report about Torres’ own performance. The report says Torres’ DRO was paying our tax money to jails for aliens who were already deported and that there was not very good record keeping on this issue.
That’s incredible, given the fact that agents are constantly telling me that there aren’t nearly enough beds to house aliens. It’s also incredible given the Inspector General report I wrote about in May, which said that about 45,000 illegal aliens with criminal records and/or ties to terrorist nations were set free into the great American abyss due to lack of bed space and other problems.
Despite the fact that ICE chiefatrix Julie L. Myers a/k/a “The ICE Princess” accepted all of the Inspector General’s recommendations in his latest report against DRO (and, thus, his report on the many shortcomings of administration and “leadership” under Torres), she anointed Torres to permanently head it up. And she canceled his unpaid suspension for malfeasance in hiring his unqualified extramarital honey for a high-ranking DRO posision.
Yet another reason why we’re losing the war to round up illegal aliens and deport them. But Torres’ sports interest remains top notch (so long as we’re paying the tab in the name of immigration “enforcement”).
Tags: American abyss, Australia, Australian Police, cleric, construction worker, Debbie Schlussel Want, Department of Homeland Security Inspector General, director, DRO, DRO Director, ICE DRO, Inspector General, John Torres, John Torres Wastes Tax, Julie L. Myers, Kansas City, law enforcement, oil changes, Olympics, Princess, silly sports pursuits, sports interest, Tommy Lasorda, USD, World Police
Hi, Debbie:
Please read the memo closely.
Participation in various law enforcement sporting events is a time-honored tradition for all entities (e.g. DRO, Inspections, Investigations)in the legacy Immigration and Customs Services; it is an opportunity for FIELD LEVEL officers and agents to meet counterparts from around the world, develop friendships and, even more important, professional contacts for possible future cooperation on matters of mutual interest on the national and international level.
ALL THIS MEMO DOES IS PROVIDE FOR “UP TO 40 HOURS OF ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE” FOR PARTICIPATION IN THESE EVENTS. THERE ARE MANY RESTRICTIONS; FOR EXAMPLE:
1. TRAVEL AND LODGING TO AND FROM THE GAMES ARE AT THE EMPLOYEE’S EXPENSE.
2. TRAVEL TIME TO AND FROM THE GAMES IS AT THE EXPENSE OF THE EMPLOYEE’S LEAVE ACCOUNT.
3. THE MEMO IS VERY PARTICULAR ON HOW THE ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE CAN BE USED. FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATES IN ONLY ONE EVENT (E.G. SOFTBALL) AND IS ELIMINATED EARLY IN THE COMPETITION, ANY FURTHER TIME SPENT IN AUSTRALIA IS AT THE EXPENSE OF THE LEAVE ACCOUNT OF THE EMPLOYEE.
So, PLEASE, PLEASE, be very careful how you approach this subject. Morale pretty much SUCKS at ICE as it is, and to begrudge the hard working employees even a little admin time (compared to the cost they are incurring at their own expense to attend the games) might be viewed as begruding the field at the expense of any beef you might have with MANAGEMENT (much of which, I will say, is justified).
I READ IT VERY CAREFULLY. THE POINT IS HE’S GIVING HIS AGENTS AND OFFICERS A WEEK OFF (AT TAXPAYERS’ EXPENSE) IF THEY GO TO THIS THING. SORRY, BUT I DOUBT MEETING SOME LEFT-WING POLICE AT AN AUSSIE VILLAGE PEOPLE GATHERING WILL HELP THEM CATCH ILLEGAL ALIENS HERE ANY FASTER OR BETTER. BUT IT WILL TAKE THEM AWAY FROM DOING THEIR JOBS HERE FOR A WHOLE WEEK.
THERE ARE MANY TIME-HONORED TRADITIONS THAT SEEM TO MEAN LITTLE TO JOHN TORRES A/K/A ICE’S EVIL COSTANZA, SUCH AS HIRING PEOPLE PER GOVERNMENT HIRING GUIDELINES RATHER THAN WHETHER THEY, ALLEGEDLY, SLEPT WITH TORRES REPEATEDLY. THAT’S NOT GOOD FOR COMERADERIE OR MORALE WITHIN HIS PORTION OF ICE, AND IT DOESN’T EVEN INVOLVE TAX-PAID TIME OFF TO AUSTRALIA.
DEBBIE SCHLUSSEL
4EVERCUSTOMS on December 6, 2006 at 6:39 pm