The Washington Times reports that ten immigration agents sued the Obama administration to try to halt the administration's new non-deportation policy. The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Texas and the ten U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and deportation officers said that policy forces them to choose between enforcing the law and being reprimanded by superiors or listening to superiors and violating their own oaths of office and a 1996 law that requires them to demand proof of legal status from those they suspect are not in the country legally. The Department of Homeland Security recently began taking applications from young adults who qualify for deferred action. Qualified applicants are those who are 30 years of age or younger, who came to the U.S. as children and who have kept a fairly clean criminal record. Those being granted deferred action will not be deported and will be allowed to obtain work permits in the U.S.

At a House Judiciary Committee hearing in July, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) warned of the possibility of a lawsuit and asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano if she would rescind the order before it came to that. Napolitano said she would not and asserted that she was acting in accordance with Supreme Court rulings that have established wide latitude for discretion by the executive branch and federal law directs the administration to establish immigration enforcement priorities. However, the 22-page complaint filed by the agents says they've been told in broad terms to ignore a whole class of illegal immigrants. They said they have been instructed not to bother asking for proof, but to take an illegal immigrant's word that he would qualify for the president's policy.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/23/immigration-agents-sue-stop-obamas-non-deportation/

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The Associated Press reports that Suzanne Barr, chief of staff to Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton resigned amid allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior made by three ICE employees. Although Barr said in her resignation letter that the allegations were "unfounded," she said she was stepping down anyway to end distractions within the agency. Barr went on leave after the New York Post reported on the lawsuit filed by James T. Hayes, Jr., ICE's special agent in charge in New York. Additional employees came forward with their allegations only after Hayes filed a complaint. House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-NY) said that Barr's resignation raises the most serious questions about management practices and personal policies at the Department of Homeland Security. He said his committee will continue to review the case and personnel practices at DHS.

Hayes is asking for more than $4 million that would cover compensation he believes is owed for relocation expenses and financial losses associated with his transfer as well as the full salary and benefits he would have earned until he was eligible to retire. The Justice Department is seeking to dismiss Hayes' lawsuit on the basis that he did not state a claim for retaliation. The Associated Press recently reported that the federal lawsuit is to be settled outside of court, with a federal magistrate judge mediating the case.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hypsLeQuLgFs-kxJvmrmNM1afY1g?docId=a5527de829784078b9e067b8e33174c2

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gXibqHxKlTcQmgUUwIUDXH2deqlQ?docId=815d2ad7c26c464782440a85c833b660

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