Congressional Democrats wrote to the Justice Department on Tuesday demanding an Inspector General investigation into allegations that the department has illegally based hiring decisions for immigration judges, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and other positions on the candidates’ “perceived political or ideological views.”
“The Department may be improperly withholding or rescinding offers for these positions based on the perception that candidates hold political or ideological views that do not align with those of the Trump Administration,” the group of House and Senate Democrats wrote. “In multiple cases, the Department appears to have withdrawn offers of employment with explanations that suggest a pretext for improper political motives.”
Under federal laws dating back to the late 1800s, government workers can only be hired or fired based on their merit and work performance. It’s illegal to make those decisions based on their real or perceived political beliefs.
The lawmakers said that since they sent a letter to the DOJ in April citing these allegations, the agency has failed to give a “substantive response,” and more whistleblowers have come forward “with information that corroborates the allegations.”
Asked about the claims at an April 18 congressional hearing, James McHenry, the director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, denied discussing the political ideology of any candidate for the jobs at issue.
“We would have no way of knowing a candidate’s ideological or political affiliation,” McHenry added. “It is not something that we request or that is part of the application process.”
The Democratic lawmakers emphasized in the April letter that attempts to politicize the DOJ workforce are not new or unique to the Trump administration. They cited investigations that uncovered the George W. Bush administration’s DOJ engaging in similar practices in assessing candidates for the same positions.
The letter is signed by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), and Donald S. Beyer Jr. (D-VA).
Read the full letter here:
Filed under “Scoffed at and Ignored.”
If you think these people are going to allow any oversight of their activities to counter Global Browning, then you haven’t been paying attention.
Until the Democrats regain control of Congress, the Trump regime and its GOP lackeys won’t lift a finger to stop their ongoing looting and partisan distruction of our government.
You mean, until democrats regain control of congress? Or are you saying something about the current GOP’s inability to govern?
Whoops! Fixed.
Apparently the comments system broke because of the news and the primaries.
Now with reference to Greg Pence’s primary win in the Indiana 6th district…this is red Indiana and it lies just over the border from my old family farm in Ohio. it’s just a bare 6 miles to the west. Which gives you the flavor of where I grew up and no longer live. The area is a hot bed for the KKK and the folks that live there LOVE trump…even those who don’t like the KKK love trump. John Boehner when he was in Congress didn’t even have any opposition. In election after election the local democrats didn’t bother to even try to offer a candidate.