Home Media Center News Releases

Washington, D.C.—The leader of the union representing some 12,000 employees of the Customs Service said today she finds “very troubling” reports that the administration plans to include this key multiple-mission agency in a new border security agency.

Such a step, said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), “completely overlooks the unique missions of the Customs Service,” which has always been charged not just with border security responsibilities, but with facilitating trade and tourism and collecting billions of dollars in revenues from international trade. Customs collects more revenue than any federal agency except the Internal Revenue Service.

According to media reports, the administration is moving toward consolidating Customs with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Border Patrol, in a new agency, most likely under the Department of Justice, with primary responsibilities in dealing with border security.

“Customs has functioned effectively as an integral part of the Treasury Department since its founding,” President Kelley said. “Altering the role, mission and unique focus of this agency, particularly at a time of national emergency, and the transferring of tens of thousands of employees, should not be done lightly nor without considerable study and thought.”

Moreover, the NTEU leader added, “it seems to me that it would hardly serve the best interests of the nation” to place Customs, with its wide range of responsibilities, in a consolidated agency with INS, given that agency’s highly visible problems.

Earlier this month, President Kelley wrote to Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill to question his statement at a congressional hearing that “all of the correct people are involved” in the decision making process about a possible agency consolidation.

“The employees who would be affected by a consolidation have not been involved at all,” she wrote, and asked the secretary for his help in seeing that the views of frontline employees are heard on this important issue.

“You have said many times,” she told Secretary O’Neill, “that federal employees should be treated with dignity and respect. I agree with that view…I hope you agree that treating employees with dignity and respect includes soliciting and giving serious consideration to their views. To date, that has not been done with regard to the issue of a possible consolidation of border control agencies.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 25 agencies and departments.