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Washington, D.C.—In a letter to the newly-confirmed Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), sought to meet to discuss “issues of mutual concern regarding CBP employees.”

After offering congratulations to W. Ralph Basham, the union leader set out a number of critical issues that the incoming CBP Commissioner should address and urged him to “listen to frontline employees about ways to make our nation’s borders safer” and address their resource, staffing and training needs.

As the leader of the union which represents nearly 16,000 CBP employees, Kelley offered to facilitate discussions between Commissioner Basham and frontline employees.

Among the issues mentioned in Kelley’s letter is the urgent need to extend federal law enforcement officer (LEO) status to CBP Officers. Basham’s previous service at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), where all CBP Officers train, will lead to a greater appreciation “of the importance and fairness of granting LEO status to CBP officers,” Kelley wrote.

FLETC helps prepare CBP Officers for the dangerous work environment they face every day at our nation’s 317 ports of entry. In just the past few months there have been shootings at several ports of entry which underscore the extensive law enforcement duties CBP Officers perform on a daily basis.

Kelley also urged Basham to review the CBP’s ‘One Face at the Border’ initiative and “put a plan in place to restore the inspectional expertise at airports, seaports and land border crossings.” Under the ‘One Face’ plan the work of legacy Customs, Immigration and Naturalization and Agriculture inspectors is combined into a single position resulting in a serious loss of inspectional expertise and a weakening in security at the nation’s ports of entry.

“CBP employees are among the most dedicated law enforcement professionals in the country. They deserve a strong leader who recognizes their commitment and sacrifices and treats them with the dignity and respect they deserve,” Kelley wrote.

“NTEU,” Kelley wrote, “is committed to working with you to accomplish this aim.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 federal workers in 30 agencies and departments, including nearly 16,000 in CBP.