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Washington, D.C.—The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) last week filed a federal court suit on behalf of a Bureau of Customs and Border Protection Officer (CBPO) faced with the potential loss of his job because of his willingness to serve as a nonpartisan member of the city council in Presidio, Texas—an unpaid, elected position he first won in 2004, after CBP expressly approved his candidacy.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks a permanent injunction requiring CBP to rescind two letters sent to Jaime Ramirez over the past three weeks, ordering him to resign his city council seat or his CBP position by Jan. 21. Since the lawsuit was filed, CBP agreed to extend the deadline to Feb. 8.

NTEU, which also seeks a declaration that these letters are unlawful and unconstitutional, argues that the threats against Ramirez “impermissibly infringe” on his First Amendment rights.

“Federal employees have the clear right to hold nonpartisan elected offices under the federal Hatch Act and its implementing regulations,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley.

In particular, she pointed out, “other individuals have served on the Presidio City Council while also working as CBP employees assigned to the Presidio port of entry.” The NTEU leader added that at least one individual has served as mayor of the city while also working as a CBP employee there.

“This is an outrageous violation of this officer’s rights,” President Kelley said. “CBP should be doing all it can to encourage its employees to contribute to their communities in this way, rather than

taking these illegal steps to impede and prevent it.”

After seeking and obtaining CBP’s formal authorization to do so, Ramirez successfully ran for the nonpartisan office in 2004; a year later, the director of field operations that includes the Presidio port of entry commended Ramirez for his willingness to serve his community. In 2006, all candidates for Presidio City Council were unopposed and were installed in office without an election in the city of some 6,000.

Since Ramirez began his service on city council in 2004, only a single issue has arisen involving the federal government—an issue involving the acquisition and possible leasing of property—and he recused himself from participating in any consideration of the issue.

Nonetheless, in the wake of a directive last December that all CBP decisions regarding approval for employees to hold public office would thereafter be made at the CBP headquarters level in Washington, Ramirez was ordered to resign either his seat on the council or his CBP position. The cited reason was an alleged appearance of a conflict of interest.

NTEU’s suit argues that CBP has failed to identify any actual conflicts of interest or situations that would create an appearance of a conflict of interest under federal regulations that justify its action. Moreover, the union argues, the agency “has identified no circumstances that would require the disqualification of Ramirez from matters so central or critical to the performance of his official duties as a CBP Officer that his ability to perform the duties of that position would be materially impaired.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 30 agencies and departments, including some 15,000 in CBP.