The Department Of Homeland Security has done more with their odd authority than conduct illegal surveillance on constitutionally protected political activities. According to a federal auditor DHS has some problems not breaking the law in other areas.
From CSN News:
There have been 2,527 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees and co-conspirators convicted of corruption and other criminal misconduct since 2004, according to a federal auditor.
Charles Edwards, the acting inspector general (IG) at DHS, made that revelation in written testimony prepared for an Aug. 1 hearing held by the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency, and Financial Management.
Sometimes it is good if people tasked to engage in tyranny are corrupt (they won't enforce unjust rules) but beyond violating rights there seems to be a lot of bribery going on at the border. DHS was created for the
War O(f)n Terror but seems to still have some issues with the
War On Drugs.
Among the 2,527 criminal convictions as of July 15, 1,644 (about 65 percent) stem from Federal Emergency Management Agency-related investigations; 358 (about 14 percent) from those linked to the Customs and Border Protection agency; 166 (7 percent) from Immigration and Customs Enforcement-related investigations; and 133 (5 percent) from investigations linked to the Transportation Security Administration. The remaining 226 (about 9 percent) convictions are categorized as “other.”...
The DHS IG classifies misconduct cases into four categories: 1) corruption involving bribery, disclosure of classified information, espionage and smuggling, among other things. 2) Violations of civil rights and liberties by employees. 3) Defrauding DHS programs and financial systems. 4) Miscellaneous, including those involving child pornography, false statements, and “contact with foreign governments/nationals” among other violations that “may not be criminal in nature.”
Read the Congressional Statement and Report.
Who watches the watchmen?