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Washington, D.C.—Members of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) last night paid tribute to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees who lost their lives in the line of duty during a solemn candlelight vigil.
NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley was joined by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute, CBP Acting Deputy Commissioner David V. Aguilar and several hundred union members at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial for an hour-long ceremony.
“We meet at this hallowed place,” President Kelley told the attendees, “to express publicly what we never forget privately—our respect for the commitment to duty of those members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection who have given their lives in service to our country.” We have, Kelley added, a profound sense of loss that is tempered by an equally profound sense of pride in the willingness of these men and women to protect our nation.
President Kelley’s sentiments were echoed by Deputy Secretary Lute and Acting Deputy Commissioner Aguilar who each spoke of the risk these employees, and their families, willingly shoulder every day. These employees have a spirit to serve, a desire to serve, despite risks that are high and dangers that are very real, Acting Deputy Commissioner Aguilar said.
The dangers can extend beyond federal law enforcement officers and encompass the entire federal workforce as was sadly noted during the candlelight vigil when President Kelley asked the attendees to also remember Vernon Hunter, the 27-year employee of the Internal Revenue Service who was killed during a suicide attack on IRS offices last month in Austin, Texas.
NTEU holds the Vigil of Lights each year on the grounds of the memorial to remember the 111 employees who, over the 200 years since the founding of the U.S. Customs Service, have given their lives in the line of duty. The annual remembrance is an integral part of NTEU’s annual legislative conference.
NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.