Immigration chief apologizes for staffer's racially offensive costume

A top federal immigration enforcer has apologized after awarding "most original costume" to a Homeland Security employee who dressed in prison stripes, dreadlocks and dark face makeup for a Hallowe'en gathering at the agency.

Julie Myers, assistant secretary overseeing Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, was part of a three-judge panel that lauded the costume, worn by a white employee, last Wednesday. She also posed in a photo with the man.

Myers apologized to employees last Friday in an e-mail, saying some costumes were found to be offensive. She also telephoned the National Association of African Americans in DHS to inform the group of what had happened, according to a letter sent to association members by the group's vice president, Sjon Shavers.

"I and the senior management at ICE deeply regret that this happened," Myers said in her e-mail, which Homeland's public affairs office provided to The Associated Press on Monday. "As the head of the agency, I have the responsibility to ensure every employee is a valued member of the ICE team."

Shavers, vice president of the African-American group and an ICE special agent, said he learned of the incident from Myers, and his group has received no complaints.

"These kinds of things, incidents, happen all the time, so we handle them on a case-by-case basis," he said.

The agency Myers heads is responsible for apprehending and jailing violators of immigration and customs laws, including conducting raids at work sites to round up undocumented workers.

The employee who wore the costume was not identified, but ICE spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said he was counseled by his supervisor. He was not wearing blackface, but was wearing makeup that was a darker color than his skin, Nantel said. Myers and others who saw him could not tell he was wearing makeup. They learned he wore makeup when some employees complained later that day.

"It became clear to the leadership of the agency later on that afternoon that he had in fact had face paint on," Nantel said.

The photo Myers took with the employee and any others of the offensive costume taken by the official photographer were deleted, Nantel said.

Lisa Navarrete, a spokeswoman for the National Council of La Raza, said it was completely appropriate for Myers to apologize.

"He was clearly trying to not be Caucasian. How dark or light he is, is beside the point. It is a costume that people did find and would find offensive that was sanctioned by the executives," Navarrete said. "There's obviously a sensitivity issue that ICE needs to address with its own staff."

James Ryan, a spokesman for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, could not discuss the case specifically, but it is against the law to create a hostile work environment based on race or national origin. Establishing the existence of a hostile environment, he said, requires proof of repeated incidents, and nothing was done about the incidents after they were reported.

Nantel said all ICE employees, including Myers, undergo diversity training. In her e-mail, Myers reminded employees to comply with diversity training and said managers should distribute the agency's equal employment opportunity and diversity policy.

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On the Net: Immigration and Customs Enforcement: http://www.ice.gov

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: http://www.eeoc.gov/