Homeland Security division seeks to begin hiring after restructuring
In their new home at Customs and Border Protection bureau, officials at Air and Marine Operations division craft strategy to add staff.
Officials from the Homeland Security Department's Air and Marine Operations division and Customs and Border Protection bureau are negotiating budget issues to determine when AMO can begin hiring personnel again.
DHS announced Tuesday that the division has been officially transferred from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau to CBP. The reorganization is an effort to integrate air and marine law enforcement assets within the department.
"The Department of Homeland Security was created to streamline and focus our efforts to secure the United States," Asa Hutchinson, DHS undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security, said in a news release. "This merger is another large step in that direction. Our goal is to achieve greater operational and cost efficiencies as we strive to make America even more safe."
AMO has more than 1,000 pilots, air and marine enforcement officers, detection systems specialists, support personnel and headquarters staff. Out of that, about 470 pilots and 50 air and marine enforcement officers operate 42 helicopters and 92 fixed-wing aircraft at stations, along with 93 marine enforcement officers who operate 73 high performance marine vessels in the nation's waterways.
The division plans to move forward with hiring additional personnel now that it is no longer part of ICE, agency spokesman Gary Bracken said Wednesday. It's not known when the hiring will take place, however, because the division's budget was frozen when it was under ICE. Bracken said officials from the division and CBP are negotiating budget issues as part of the merger.
"Our intention is to be able to go ahead with the hiring that we were working on before the hiring freeze went into effect," Bracken said. "Until we get through the approval of that with CBP staff, we can't do anything."
The merger has two phases, DHS officials said Tuesday. The first phase, completed on Sunday, involved moving the division from ICE to CBP. The second phase entails the integration of all air and marine personnel, missions and assets, which is not expected to be completed until the end of fiscal 2005.
"Throughout this merger, efforts will be made to find efficiencies with aviation and marine operations, locations, acquisition and recapitalization," according to the news release.. "While efficiencies will be gained, at no time will there be a drop in air or marine support to legacy missions in ICE, CBP or the other many agencies served by these resources."