Article appeared June 16, 2009

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New York Times

June 16, 2009

OP-ED CONTRIBUTER

A Drug War Inside the Government

By BRADLEY SCHREIBER

Chevy Chase, Md.

THE Obama administration is taking aggressive measures to ensure that the drug violence in Mexico does not spill over more than it already has into this country. But a dispute between two federal agencies, if not remedied, will seriously hamper these efforts — and prevent thousands of experienced criminal investigators from doing their utmost to secure our borders.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security and, under current law, its agents can investigate any crime with a connection to the American border, from weapons trafficking to child pornography. Any crime, that is, except drug crimes. The ability to investigate such crimes, known as Title 21 authority, rests with the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is part of the Department of Justice.

The attorney general can and, under certain circumstances, does give other federal agents the power to investigate drug crimes. But a longstanding dispute with the D.E.A. severely limits the number of immigration and customs enforcement agents who are given Title 21 authority. Right now, it’s fewer than 1,500 of 6,000 or so agents.

During my tenure in the Department of Homeland Security, I worked directly with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the D.E.A. on Title 21 authority. While both sides claim there are several issues at play, based on my experience, the dispute really boils down to concerns by the D.E.A. that another federal department is encroaching on its turf.

While fears of ceding jurisdiction are not new to federal agencies, the worries at the D.E.A. are groundless. The agency is second to none as the country’s primary drug investigation force. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, on the other hand, is a multi-mission agency whose criminal investigation jurisdiction will continue to be limited to offenses connected to the American border. The immigration and customs enforcement agency does not have the capacity to take over the D.E.A’s role nor would it want to do so, given its other duties.

However, allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to handle drug investigations at our borders, where it already has a significant presence, would greatly strengthen our efforts to stop the flow of narcotics that fuels the drug violence both here and in Mexico. It would also let the D.E.A. shift its own resources to other domestic and international investigations.

This situation is all the more critical because the F.B.I. has severely reduced its anti-drug efforts to concentrate on fighting terrorism and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s staffing levels have hardly increased in recent years. If Immigration and Customs Enforcement were given Title 21 authority, the United States would be able to add thousands of drug investigators immediately — and without spending any additional money.

Despite numerous efforts by the two agencies to reconcile their differences, too much animosity exists for them to resolve this problem on their own. The best solution is for Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, and Eric Holder, the attorney general, to work out this dispute once and for all. While Ms. Napolitano recently told the Senate that she has begun discussions with the Justice Department, there is no indication that this issue will be resolved soon.

Every day that goes by is another day we are at risk, and we can no longer allow this interdepartmental dispute to contribute to that risk. By giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents full and permanent Title 21 authority, the Obama administration can help strengthen our border — quickly, cheaply and decisively.

Bradley C. Schreiber, the president of a government relations company, was a senior adviser at the Department of Homeland Security from 2007 to 2009.

Article appeared June 19, 2009

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Los Angeles Times

Designated immigration agents authorized to participate in drug enforcement

An agreement is reached to limit drug trafficking at the U.S.-Mexico border, a move intended to end the turf war between the Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

By Josh Meyer
June 19, 2009

Reporting from Washington — In an effort to plug a hole in U.S.-Mexico drug enforcement, the U.S. departments of Justice and Homeland Security announced an agreement Thursday that will give designated immigration agents expanded powers to pursue drug investigations.

A key goal is to end the long-standing turf battles between the Justice Department's Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement that many critics believe have hampered investigations.

The agreement will allow an "unlimited" number of ICE agents to be cross-designated as DEA agents, giving them the authority to investigate suspected drug smugglers at the border and internationally -- a prerogative that in the past has been jealously guarded by the DEA.

Both departments also pledged greater information sharing and better coordination of activities.

"Moving past old disputes and ensuring cooperation between all levels of our departments has been one of our top priorities since taking office," Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement.

The agreement "will strengthen our efforts to combat international narcotics smuggling, streamline operations and bring better intelligence to our frontline personnel," they said.

But the announcement did not satisfy Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who has complained for years about the turf battles between the two agencies. Grassley, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and co-chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, said the two did not go far enough in addressing the problems.

"They've kicked the can down the road, which could lead to more of the same squabbles we're trying to get rid of," Grassley said in a statement.

Officials at both departments refused to release the actual agreement, saying that doing so could give the cartels confidential information about government operations and resources.

It will be in force for one year and then reviewed, with possible changes made before it is renewed for another two years, DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart and ICE Assistant Secretary John T. Morton said in a conference call.

Bradley C. Schreiber, a senior advisor at the Department of Homeland Security from 2007 until earlier this year, said it is uncertain what effect the agreement will have on a stormy relationship that has become institutionalized over several years.

Schreiber said the DEA had been trying to protect its role as the nation's primary drug enforcement agency in battles with the U.S. Customs Service and, later, Homeland Security.

ICE has also been sharply criticized, by Grassley and federal watchdog auditors, for not sharing information with the DEA and not participating in its special counter-narcotics fusion center.

Schreiber said that as many as 1,300 ICE agents had cross-designation in the past, but in practice, many of them were barred from actually participating in investigations and other drug enforcement efforts. In addition, thousands of other seasoned ICE agents were effectively sidelined in the drug war because they did not get the cross-designation, he said.

At the same time, the FBI has shifted agents to counter-terrorism and the DEA expanded its activities around the world without hiring more agents, leaving the Mexico border vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated drug traffickers, according to Schreiber, Grassley and other critics.

The agreement will allow designated ICE agents to investigate drug cases and a wide array of other crimes in coordination with the DEA -- as long as there is a clear connection to the U.S. border.

"This is one piece of the puzzle in making America safer," Schreiber said. "Now the federal government is one step closer to taking ownership of the southwest border by putting more boots on the ground, more much-needed personnel on the front lines of the drug war."

Article appeared June 19, 2009

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Chicago Tribune

DEA makes deal to share drug-bust powers with immigration agents

Agreement is bid to end long-standing turf war between two agencies

By Josh Meyer | Washington Bureau
June 19, 2009

WASHINGTON -- In an attempt to plug a hole in the U.S.-Mexico drug-trafficking enforcement effort, the U.S. Justice and Homeland Security Departments entered a new interagency agreement Thursday that they hope will allow them to better target and apprehend cross-border drug smugglers.

But at least one influential senator said the agreement did not go nearly far enough to address long-standing turf battles between the two departments, which he says are undermining the campaign to counter increasingly violent Mexican drug cartels.

The agreement between Justice's Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement is designed to end years of friction, primarily by cross-designating an "unlimited" number of ICE agents as DEA agents. That would give them the authority to investigate suspected drug smugglers at the border and internationally -- a prerogative that has been jealously guarded by the DEA.

Under the agreement, both departments pledged greater sharing of information and intelligence, and also better coordination of activities.

"Moving past old disputes and ensuring cooperation between all levels of our Departments has been one of our top priorities since taking office," Atty. Gen. Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement. They said the agreement "will strengthen our efforts to combat international narcotics smuggling, streamline operations and bring better intelligence to our front line personnel."

But the announcement did not satisfy Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), who has complained about turf battles and failure to cooperate between the two agencies for years. Grassley, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and co-chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, said the two departments did not go far enough to address the problems

"[I]nstead they've kicked the can down the road, which could lead to more of the same squabbles we're trying to get rid of," he said in a statement.

Officials refused to release the actual agreement, saying that doing so could give the cartels confidential information about government operations and resources. It will be in force for one year, and then reviewed, DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart and ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton told reporters.

Bradley Schreiber, a senior adviser at the Department of Homeland Security from 2007 until earlier this year, hailed the agreement.

Schreiber said the DEA has been trying to protect its role as the nation's primary drug enforcement agency in battles with the U.S. Customs Service and, later, with Homeland Security.

ICE has also been sharply criticized, by Grassley and federal watchdog auditors, for not sharing information with DEA and not participating in its special counternarcotics fusion center.

Washington Times

DEA, ICE mend fences

Agree to share information on drug trafficking

Sara A. Carter (Contact) | Friday, June 19, 2009

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency ended a seven-year dispute Thursday that the DEA said had hampered its investigations of drug traffickers.

DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart and ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton, an Obama administration appointee, signed an information-sharing agreement that had languished since 2002 and created tension between the two agencies.

"This agreement marks a new era of cooperation between ICE and DEA to combat drug smuggling," Mr. Morton said. "Together, ICE agents and DEA agents will target those who profit from bringing drugs across our borders and into our communities."

Said Ms. Leonhart: "As drug traffickers become more aggressive and violent, they must be countered by greater coordination, cooperation and information sharing by federal agencies."

DEA officers have complained for years that a lack of cooperation with other federal law enforcement agencies had led to missed opportunities and difficulties obtaining information needed to arrest drug traffickers in the U.S.

Bradely A. Schreiber, former senior adviser at the Department of Homeland Security with the Bush administration, said cooperation is improving between agencies involved in the war on drugs.

"Is it perfect? No. Are there challenges? Yes. But the U.S. government is moving in the right direction, absolutely," said Mr. Schreiber, now with Homeland Security Solutions LLC (HSS), a government relations firm.

Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., pushed for the agreement as part of numerous actions to mitigate current threats at the border, Mr. Schreiber said.

Why ICE refused to sign the cooperation agreement earlier is unclear, but its resistance appears related to infighting over turf.

"There was a disagreement with ICE when the agreement was brought up in 2002, because they felt they were being told to put more information in their reports than other agencies," said a former federal official who left government earlier this year. "This was only one of several disagreements the agencies had, but usually what it boiled down to was turf wars."

The dispute behind Thursday's signing ceremony goes back to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which preceded the creation of ICE in 2003.

ICE has come under criticism for failing to cooperate with other federal departments.

A Government Accountability Office report released this week criticized ICE and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for failing to work with each other.

Rep. Eliot L. Engel, New York Democrat who heads a key oversight subcommittee, said an anti-gunrunning strategy should have been in place since October 2007, when the U.S. and Mexico agreed to the joint cartel-fighting Merida initiative.

"It is mind-boggling that for a year and a half, we have had no interagency strategy to address this major problem, but instead have relied on uncoordinated efforts by a variety of agencies," Mr. Engel said.

ICE spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said the two agencies pride themselves "on the strength of our relationships with law enforcement partners at every level and throughout the country," the Associated Press reported.

Thursday's agreement between ICE and the DEA will allow ICE agents to investigate drug operations overseas in conjunction with the DEA and share information electronically through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Fusion Center, which was created in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel campaigns against major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.

Access to the data base will allow the DEA, ICE, FBI and other participating agencies -- including the U.S. Coast Guard and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives -- to share case information and more effectively target criminals and avoid duplication of cases.

"We knew after September 11 that information sharing was critical to preventing future terrorist attacks," said a senior law enforcement official. "Hopefully, this will be a step in the right direction."

The official said the DEA had been urging ICE and its predecessor to sign the agreement since it became available in 2002, but that ICE had declined until Thursday. The official's claim was confirmed by a second law enforcement official. Both declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the information.

Improved information sharing among federal agencies was a key recommendation of the federal commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks.

In recent years international drug cartels, especially in Mexico, have fiercely expanded their operations in the United States.

Control over transit routes along the U.S. border with Mexico is central to smuggling billions of dollars in contraband and millions of people into the United States.

The violence, which has spiraled out of control over the past several years, has led to the deaths of more than 8,000 people, including Mexican federal officers and police, forcing Mexican President Felipe Calderon to put the military in charge of the nation's drug war more than two years ago.

In interviews with The Washington Times this year, Defense and DEA officials cautioned that the increased violence along the border and the growing nexus between various drug cartels and terrorist organizations -- particularly Hezbollah -- poses a significant security risk.

These officials said there was no evidence that Hezbollah is engaged in terrorist activities in the U.S. and that its networks mainly serve to funnel money to the group's base in southern Lebanon.

The interagency agreement signed Thursday is expected to enhance information sharing and increase the presence of agents along the U.S.-Mexico border.

ICE will select an unlimited number of ICE agents to work with the DEA on drug smuggling cases that have a clear "nexus" involving the U.S. border with Mexico, according to a press release issued by both agencies.