Thread: ICE Chief of Staff's discrimination & retaliation suit

ICE chief of staff on leave after new allegations of lewd conduct surface
By Judson Berger / Published August 15, 2012
foxnews.com
-------------------------------------------

The top Homeland Security official accused of cultivating a "frat-house"-style work environment has "voluntarily placed herself on leave" amid an internal review, the department told FoxNews.com late Tuesday evening -- just hours after FoxNews.com contacted the agency about new allegations against her.

The official, Suzanne Barr, is chief of staff for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Two more ICE employees came forward this week to complain about "lewd" conduct inside the agency, submitting sworn affidavits that depict graphic comments made by two top officials working under DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.

The affidavits were given as part of a discrimination and retaliation suit filed earlier this year by James T. Hayes Jr., the head of the New York office for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The two new affidavits described separate incidents in 2009. Both accounts described the actions of Barr, who was also mentioned in Hayes' lawsuit.

ICE Public Affairs Director Brian Hale said in a written statement that the department would respond "directly and strongly" to the lawsuit in court, but noted internal measures were being taken over the claims against Barr.

"ICE has referred these allegations to the DHS Office of Inspector General and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility for review. Ms. Barr has voluntarily placed herself on leave pending the outcome of this review," ICE Public Affairs Director Brian Hale said in a written statement.

In the newly emerging affidavits, one of the employees claimed that in October 2009, while in a discussion about Halloween plans, the individual witnessed Barr turn to a senior ICE employee and say: "You a sexy" (expletive deleted).

"She then looked at his crotch and asked, 'How long is it anyway?'" according to the affidavit.

"Several employees laughed nervously," the affidavit said. The names of the workers making the claims have been redacted.

The other account recalled a trip to Colombia in late 2009, attended by ICE Director John Morton, Barr and Ray Parmer, who is ICE special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.

The account said Parmer and Barr were "drinking heavily" at the house of the deputy chief of mission for the U.S. Embassy there. It said Parmer took the BlackBerry of another employee, Peter Vincent, and sent "lewd messages" to Barr.

The affidavit went on to say: "During this party, Suzanne Barr approached me and offered to" perform oral sex.

The two accounts were submitted this week to the defense attorney in the case Hayes filed against Napolitano.

A DHS spokesman had previously described the allegations in the Hayes suit as "unfounded."

Attorney Morris Fischer, who represents Hayes, told FoxNews.com his team is in the process of gathering more evidence.

"People are coming out of the woodwork on this because this is such a serious matter and people want to see this agency's mess cleaned up," he said.

While Napolitano is named as the sole defendant, Hayes' suit focuses on Barr and Dora Schriro, who joined DHS in February 2009, five months after Hayes was promoted to director of ICE Detention and Removal Operations.

Hayes claims Schriro, who was brought on as a special adviser to Napolitano, was not qualified for the job because she lacked law enforcement experience. Hayes maintained Schriro enjoyed a "long-standing relationship" with Napolitano, and soon pushed him aside "because of this relationship (with Napolitano) and because he was not female," the suit says.

Schriro previously led the Arizona and Missouri corrections departments. She has since left DHS and now serves as commissioner for the New York City Department of Correction.

I won't post the links here but there are several other news stories and some blog posts for anyone interested searching for more on this story. All saying more or less the same thing.

Plaintiff's counsel is soliciting witnesses and they're lining up. This is going to get messy quickly or settle quietly. Dems don't want sordid in an election year.

ICE chief of staff resigns after allegations of lewd conduct

by Judson Berger
Published September 01, 2012
FoxNews.com

A top official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement has resigned following allegations by several subordinates of lewd behavior.

ICE Chief of Staff Suzanne Barr submitted her resignation in a letter, obtained by FoxNews.com, to ICE Director John Morton. She rejected the allegations against her as "unfounded" but said she didn't want to distract from the agency's mission.

"In recent weeks, I have been the focus of unfounded allegations designed to destroy my reputation, but of greater concern however, is the threat these allegations represent to the reputation of this agency and the men and women who proudly serve their country by advancing ICE's mission," Barr wrote.

"As such, I feel it is incumbent upon me to take every step necessary to prevent further harm to the agency and to prevent this from further distracting from our critical work. Therefore, it is with great regret that I submit my resignation as Chief of Staff for Immigration and Customs Enforcement."

The resignation comes nearly three weeks after Barr went on leave over the allegations. The questions about Barr's conduct were first raised in a lawsuit filed by an ICE official against Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano -- the lawsuit, which alleged discrimination and retaliation, listed among the complaints that Barr cultivated a "frat-house"-style work environment.

That accusation was supplemented by two affidavits recounting incidents allegedly involving Barr in 2009.
In the affidavits, one of the ICE employees claimed that in October 2009, while in a discussion about Halloween plans, the individual witnessed Barr turn to a senior ICE employee and say: "You a sexy" (expletive deleted).

"She then looked at his crotch and asked, 'How long is it anyway?'" according to the affidavit.

"Several employees laughed nervously," the affidavit said. The names of the workers making the claims were redacted.

The other account recalled a trip to Colombia in late 2009, attended by Morton, Barr and Ray Parmer, who is ICE special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.

The account said Parmer and Barr were "drinking heavily" at the house of the deputy chief of mission for the U.S. Embassy there. It said Parmer took the BlackBerry of another employee, Peter Vincent, and sent "lewd messages" to Barr.

The affidavit went on to say: "During this party, Suzanne Barr approached me and offered to" perform oral sex.

In her letter to Morton, Barr defended herself and said the accusations are not true.

"With time I am confident that the truth will prevail. The allegations against me are unfounded and without any merit, and I am confident that my reputation will be restored," she wrote. "I am equally confident that the agency will continue to flourish and grow. The men and women who risk their lives will continue to enjoy great success and I hope that my resignation will allow them to again focus on that which is most important."

Morris Fischer, the attorney representing the ICE official who is suing DHS, said to FoxNews.com, "We are obviously very pleased with the agency's first step in rectifying this situation by accepting Ms. Barr's resignation. Now is the time for the agency to move forward and make restitution to the individuals harmed."

Before joining ICE in January 2009, Barr worked under Napolitano while she was governor of Arizona, serving as director of legislative affairs.

Republican lawmakers have taken a keen interest in the case, questioning what it says about the culture at ICE and DHS.

"The resignation of Suzanne Barr raises the most serious questions about management practices and personnel policies at the Department of Homeland Security," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., said in a statement.

He said his committee would "intensify" its review of the case and "DHS personnel practices across the board."

I truly hate these canned 'for the good of the agency' cop outs. It's the same "I want to spend more time with my family" lie.

There were multiple witnesses to numerous acts. She's as guilty as the day is long. She was an embarrassment to ICE and JN and as a 6c appointment, POTUS. She had to go and go quickly.

This case draws out a good point. Not sure how many people read the actual complaint but the accusations against Suzie BARR are intense and vulgar. My personal opinion is that she and members of her staff are likely guilty of most if not all the accusations. Multiple people have filed and hence her resignation. According to the complaint she got pissed at several male bosses and they were made to sit in the mens room for days during work, that was one of the "polite accusations". Could you imagine a straight white male employee getting away with this? No way. Although this is a sad situation it is one of the few complaints I see indicating that a straight white male can be descriminated against and this SAC had the Bal@# to make such a complaint. Enough politically correct BS. If the shoe fits..

I didn't bother reading it, but I'm shocked anyone would put up with that. That seems a no-brainer to me...

Originally Posted by md1735

[B]
The affidavit went on to say: "During this party, Suzanne Barr approached me and offered to" perform oral sex.

One more thing to put on the "Don't do this when on official travel list". . .

Boy, that list keeps getting longer. . .

Secret Service has recently contributed "Don't solicit hookers, but if you do, remember to pay them"
ICE has just added "Don't offer to perform oral sex on a subordinate while on official travel with your boss and drunk as a skunk"