Investigation alleges 'cover-up' attempt by immigration chief in offensive costume flap Nick Juliano

Published: Wednesday April 9, 2008



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Print This Email This Update: Clinton 'appalled' by 'racially insensitive' immigration office The country's top immigration cop, Julie Myers, attempted to suppress photographs taken with a federal employee dressed in an offensive Halloween costume and oversaw a "coordinated effort to conceal" the extent of her involvement in praising the questionable garb until after her Senate confirmation, according to a new investigation. Late Wednesday, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said she was "appalled" by the new report, from the House Homeland Security Committee. The Democratic candidate reiterated her call for a change in tone to the immigration debate. I continue to be appalled about the inappropriate and racially insensitive activities that took place within our nations highest immigration enforcement entity, and am outraged that there was an effort to cover these incidents up," Clinton said in a statement e-mailed to reporters Wednesday evening. "I have consistently called for a change of tone in the immigration debate and this incident points to the urgent need for that to happen. When the officials who are in charge of enforcing immigration laws display these kinds of prejudice, they become part of the problem instead of part of the solution. Its time for this Administration to hold its public servants accountable. The House Homeland Security Committee has been probing the circumstances of a Halloween party held last year for Department of Homeland Security Employees. Myers, a DHS assistant secretary, was one of three judges who awarded "most original costume" to an employee who was dressed in skin-darkening makeup, a dreadlocks wig and prison stripes. The Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement was photographed with the employee at the party, although it was more than three months until those photos would become public. A 22-page report (.pdf) released Tuesday night by the Homeland Security Committee's majority staff reveals several new details about the party and the cover-up role played by Myers, who heads the Immigration and Customs Service. The committee's Democrats call for a full DHS investigation. This examination indicates that Assistant Secretary Myers directed the destruction of photographs of the Halloween party, enlisted other DHS employees to destroy photographs and ordered the sanctioning and relocation of an employee in a coordinated effort to conceal the circumstances surrounding the party.



These activities were undertaken prior to the Assistant Secretarys Senate Confirmation hearing and may have been carried out to preclude or delay the public release of photographs that could have adversely impacted her confirmation hearings. Myers ordered photos of the man in the offensive costume deleted after the party, but the report reveals for the first time that ICE learned those photos could be restored just a week later. It took the agency two months to comply with a public records request for the photos -- more than three times longer than the law requires. A DHS spokeswoman tells the New York Times that suggestions of a coordinated cover-up are "absolutely false." The Committee's report made five recommendations: 1. The Department of Homeland Security conduct a full investigation into any and all actions taken by ICE officials that either led to or were meant to lead to the concealment of this incident.



2. An independent official be appointed to determine what, if any, laws may have been violated by ordering the destruction of photographs.



3. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel examine whether the disciplinary actions taken against the employee that wore the costume were in accord with Federal personnel rules and regulations.



4. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determine whether the award to the employee that wore the costume created or contributed to a hostile work environment at ICE.



5. The Department of Homeland Security publicly release the internal report commissioned by the Under Secretary for Management. The DHS employee in the offensive costume apparently wore it to work that day prior to the Halloween party, which doubled as a charity fundraiser. The employee, who has not been identified, appeared before Myers and the other judges to describe his costume during the party's contest. "I'm a Jamaican detainee from Krome, obviously, I've escaped," he said, according to the committee report, prompting laughter from the judges. Krome is a ICE detention facility in Miami that houses detainees from Jamaica, Haiti and Latin America, according to a report footnote. It has been subject to allegations of "sexual abuse, overcrowding and mistreatment of detainees." A few hours after laughing with her colleagues over the costume, Myers became concerned about her "bad judgement call," according to the report, and she ordered her chief of staff to have the photos of the man in the detainee costume destroyed. The morning after the party, employees began to complain about the offensiveness of the costume Myers had dubbed most original. She decided to reprimand the employee and require him to undergo counseling. Myers also sent an e-mail to ICE employees on Nov. 2 apologizing for the costume award. Three days later, Nov. 5, news outlets had received word of the Halloween party and several stories containing broad details about the costume began to appear. ICE leadership placed the employee on administrative leave, and the next day he was relocated to an ICE field office outside of Washington, according to the report. CNN quickly filed a Freedom of Information Act Request for the photos from the Halloween party. The freelance photographer hired by the agency told them soon after that it would be possible to restore the photos he deleted, allowing quick compliance with the FOIA request. But ICE officials told him to wait for formal written confirmation. It took the agency 60 days to comply with the request, a possible violation of federal open records laws, which require agencies to respond to requests within 20 days, according to the report. Myers' appointment as ICE chief was controversial from the start. By the time of the Halloween party, she was nearing the end of her second year in the position after dual recess appointments from President Bush. Several senators, including Missouri's Claire McCaskill and Connecticut's Joseph Lieberman, raised questions about her fitness for the position, because of her complete lack of prior law enforcement experience and little management experience. Many conservatives have also been critical of her appointment. Myers, who is the niece of former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers, was finally confirmed by the Senate on December 19, six weeks after the party. It would be another six weeks until the costume photos would be released.