Thread: AG Holder says agents will get new powers

AG Holder says agents will get new powers
By DEVLIN BARRETT – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder says federal immigration agents will get expanded powers to help fight Mexican drug cartels.

Holder says an announcement is imminent on a new agreement between the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

The agreement would allow more agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to engage in international drug investigations.

Currently, only some agents have that authority. The agency has tried for years to expand that number in negotiations with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... wD98SI3R83

U.S. immigration agents to fight drug cartels
Attorney general says new powers will allow international investigations


updated 36 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - U.S. immigration agents soon will get expanded powers to fight Mexican drug cartels, Attorney General Eric Holder told Congress on Wednesday.

Under a new deal aimed at settling a long-running turf dispute with the Drug Enforcement Administration, more agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement would get authority to investigate drug cases.

When Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., asked the attorney general about the issue, Holder said an announcement was imminent on a new agreement between the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security. Holder said he had discussed the matter the night before with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.


"I think we're in a position to announce that we have reached an agreement that is going to be announced within days," the attorney general said.

Currently, only some ICE agents have that authority. The agency has tried for years to expand that number in negotiations with the drug enforcement agency. The most recent agreement was in 1994, according to a March report by the Government Accountability Office.

Since then, there have been constant disputes over what authority the agreement gives ICE agents. The current agreement allows for 1,475 of more than 6,000 ICE agents to have these investigative authorities at one time, but ICE officials contend that is not enough.

ICE spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said the department was working on an agreement with the Justice Department, but she would not elaborate.


Schumer praised the upcoming announcement as a positive step in fighting drug cartels.

"Right now, we have at least three separate agencies, all with different missions, trying to handle border enforcement," Schumer said. "The cartels that smuggle drugs and illegal immigrants have integrated their activities, and now the federal agencies will have a better integrated response."


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31410072/ns ... -security/

Kind of amazing that two departments of the federal government need to reach an agreement to cooperate with one another.

The agreement would allow more agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to engage in international drug investigations.

More than likely this will mean fewer ICE agents enforcing our immigration laws.

Immigration Agents to Get Expanded Powers
By GINGER THOMPSON
Published: June 18, 2009

In an expansion of its crackdown on drug cartels, the Obama administration plans to announce Thursday that it will give Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents the authority to investigate drug crimes. Justice Department officials refused to divulge details of their plans, saying they did not want to pre-empt the news conference. But officials familiar with the plan said it would settle a long-running turf battle between the immigration agency and the Drug Enforcement Administration that has seriously undermined the efforts of both. The decision came amid drug-related violence that left more than 6,000 people dead in Mexico last year. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, called the Justice Department’s decision “welcome news,â€