Lawmakers say ICE official sought to mask Halloween incident

The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement apparently was so concerned about her pending Senate confirmation that she tried to cover up an incident last October in which she gave an award to an employee wearing a racially insensitive Halloween costume, Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee assert in a new report.

The report, prepared by Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and his staff, reviews the circumstances that occurred on and after Oct. 31 when Julie Myers, assistant Homeland Security secretary for immigration and customs enforcement, participated in an award presentation for most original costume at the agency's Halloween party.

The award went to an employee who wore prison garb and fake dreadlocks and darkened his skin using makeup.

The incident touched off a firestorm because ICE is the largest investigative agency within the Homeland Security Department and enforces immigration laws.

The report, released late Tuesday, calls for additional investigations into the matter, including reviews by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Myers was photographed with the employee. But hours after the party, she ordered all photographs of the employee to be destroyed, according to the report.

At the time, Myers' confirmation was pending in the Senate. She was confirmed in December.

"This examination indicates that Assistant Secretary Myers directed the destruction of photographs of the Halloween party, enlisted other DHS employees to destroy photographs and ordered the sanctioning and relocation of an employee in a coordinated effort to conceal the circumstances surrounding the party," the report concludes.

"These activities were undertaken prior to the assistant secretary's Senate confirmation hearing and may have been carried out to preclude or delay the public release of photographs that could have adversely impacted her confirmation hearings."

In a Nov. 2 memo to all ICE employees, Myers said some of the costumes at the party were "inappropriate and offensive," adding that she and other senior mangers "deeply regret" the situation.

Myers met with Thompson on Nov. 8 to discuss the incident. She apologized at the meeting for her bad judgment, the report says.

But Thompson said Tuesday that Myers did not inform him that photographs were taken of the employee wearing the racially insensitive costume or that she ordered the pictures to be destroyed.

Thompson said Myers told him there were no pictures. "I left the meeting under the assumption that there were no pictures," Thompson said, suggesting that, in hindsight, Myers might have been technically correct because photos no longer existed. "It's a play on words," he said,

Photographs were eventually located and released in February, well after Myers was confirmed according to the report.

Among the report's recommendations is a call for the Homeland Security Department to "conduct a full investigation into any and all actions taken by ICE officials that either led to or were meant to lead to the concealment of this incident."

An "independent official" should also be appointed to determine what, if any, laws may have been violated by the order to destroy the photographs, the report says.

Additionally, the Office of Special Counsel should examine whether the disciplinary actions taken against the employee who wore the costume were appropriate, and the EEOC should determine whether the costume award "created or contributed to a hostile work environment at ICE."

Homeland Security should also publicly release an internal report on the incident, Thompson's staff added.

An ICE spokeswoman responded Tuesday by saying she "absolutely" disputes the assertion that Myers tried to orchestrate a cover-up because her confirmation was pending.

Myers has taken full responsibility for the incident and been upfront with lawmakers about the photographs and her order to have them destroyed, including with Thompson, the spokeswoman said.

"The record on this is very clear," she said. "Julie Myers has been open and honest. She's been transparent about the incident from the very beginning. She's accepted full responsibility."