Customs and Border Patrol employees first federal workers to receive furlough notices

Customs and Border Patrol employees among first federal workers to receive furlough notices

Leada Gore | lgore@al.com By Leada Gore | lgore@al.com
on March 07, 2013 at 4:02 PM, updated March 07, 2013 at 4:14 PM

Employees with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol are among the first federal workers receiving furlough notices.

In a memo dated March 7, employees were notified they face furloughs no sooner than 30 days from issuance of the letter. The furloughs are necessary, according to the memo "because the agency has been ordered to implement a mandatory reduction in non-exempt nondefense discretionary spending."

The furloughs are being blamed on the across-the-board $85 billion cuts from sequestration. Non-defense agencies such as Customs and Border Patrol are facing cuts of 9 percent now through the end of September. CBP officials said the funding crisis could prompt the elimination of 2,750 officers and 5,000 border patrol agent positions.

According to the memo, the furloughs will begin no earlier than April 21 with full-time workers facing furloughs of up to 14 days or 112 working hours. Furloughs for part-time employees will be prorated based on work schedule.

It also stated the number of furloughed hours per pay period may vary based on funding. Employees will be notified of the number of furlough hours they will have to take prior to the start of each pay period.

"At this time, Customs and Border Protection does not reasonably anticipate the need for furloughs beyond 14 word days," the memo said. "The agency recognizes the difficult personal financial implications of any furlough, no matter how limited its length."

According to the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents a majority of those receiving notices, about 24,000 customs and border patrol workers will be subject to furlough.

"There is no escaping the reality that sequestration is having serious effects on the traveling public and on vital commerce," NTEU President Colleen Kelley said in a written statement. "These impacts will only get worse the longer sequestration continues, especially as the busy summer travel season approaches."

CBP had already instituted a hiring freeze, elimination of overtime and curtailing travel and training.

House rejects licenses for Dream Act youth

If anybody believes the furlough of 24,000 border agents was made necessary because of the so-called sequestration, I have some lake front property in Arizona I want to sell them.

How about this instead: to cut federal spending required by sequestration , the administration (the Junta) proposes cutting food stamps given to illegal aliens -- yes they get food stamps. You know,the illegal foreigners who are competing with real American citizens for limited jobs, competing with Americans who are worried about how they are going to feed their own children, their own American families, while foreigners are competing with real American citizens for the limited resources available to provide a safety net for real American citizens.

The 24,000 border patrol furloughs are Obama's revenge. It is useful to make it easier to breach our border to allow more future illegal aliens (future Democrat voters) into our home, along with all of the illegal aliens released from jail to prey upon real American citizens.

It cost 100,000 dollars to educate every illegal alien child K-12, no possibility to cut money there, is there?

Yes, there could not possibly be any government waste to cut before cutting border security -- right? Yah, right. The governmnet never, ever waste any money, right?

Something has to be done now - we are loosing.

We need to keep them out, deport them and make some kind of decision about anchor babies.

We went to eat with family tonight. We went to one of those All You Can Eat - where you try to commit suicide with a fork.

We did a lot of people watching. The young American families would have 1 - a few had two children. The Mexicans all had at least three and usually 4 - and many of them had more on the way.

Yeah, but note this article was in 2013. Four years ago.

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Originally Posted by Judy

Yeah, but note this article was in 2013. Four years ago.

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Yep, when I saw this, I immediately went huh???

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CBP officials said the funding crisis could prompt the elimination of 2,750 officers and 5,000 border patrol agent positions.

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Originally Posted by MW

Yep, when I saw this, I immediately went huh???

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Me too.