By Steve Neavling
Customs and Border Protection has quietly ordered its agents to steer clear of events hosted by organizations that support women or minority groups in law enforcement, a senior official said, The New York Times reports.
The directive, issued in late March, was part of a broader travel advisory that prohibited attendance at conferences “that have a gender basis, race basis or a culture basis,” according to Timothy Quinn, the agency’s former head of intergovernmental public liaison. Quinn, who worked for the agency for nearly 12 years, retired last week in protest.
“I think that’s discrimination,” Quinn said. “I don’t understand why we wouldn’t engage with these organizations.”
The memo, citing a Trump executive order that banned diversity practices across the federal government, explicitly mentioned groups like Women in Federal Law Enforcement and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. Quinn said the order also applied to Women in Aviation International, Blacks in Government, and Federally Employed Women.
A Homeland Security spokesperson said personnel can join outside groups on their own time, but CBP “will not use taxpayer dollars and official duty hours to fund identity-based events or programs.”
Critics, including Quinn and former CBP commissioner Gil Kerlikowske, said the order amounts to discrimination. Col. Jeffrey Glover, president of NOBLE, called the ban “disappointing” and said it unfairly targets organizations that help officers advance in their careers.
“This shortsighted and harmful ban should be reversed,” Quinn said in a social media statement announcing his retirement.
It’s unclear if similar directives were sent to other federal law enforcement agencies.
