The Department of Justice announced this week that a Drug Enforcement Administration-led effort entitled Project Python resulted in more than 600 arrests targeting activities by the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). CJNG is considered one of the fastest growing transnational criminal organizations and one of the most prolific methamphetamine producers in the world.

In November 2019, FEDagent reported on oral argument in Hernandez v. Mesa. This is the second time the case came before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has issued a decision on the case and found that Bivens does not extend to claims based on a cross-border shooting.

Life insurance can be confusing, especially in the federal space, where benefits packages can be overwhelming packets of paperwork, filled with unfamiliar acronyms and pricing tiers.

The Federal Protective Service defends federal facilities across the country. Here is an inside look at some of the people who protect governmental institutions.

At the direction of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has released guidance to agencies regarding the potential impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). OPM coordinated this guidance with the National Security Council (NSC), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Department of State (DoS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Federal Protective Service (FPS).

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is partnering with agencies to increase use of assessments to determine which employees can be reskilled to meet changing workforce needs. The assessments are also being used within agencies to streamline the selection process for employees with skills to meet critical skills gaps.

An immigration judge in Memphis, Tennessee has issued a removal order against a German citizen and Tennessee resident based on his service in Nazi Germany in 1945. Friedrich Karl Berger served as an armed guard at a concentration camp in the Neuengamme Concentration Camp system.

Ken Cuccinelli’s appointment as acting Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is unconstitutional, a federal district court held this week.

Tune in to FEDtalk this week to hear about how federal offices can mitigate fraud, waste, and abuse before the issue requires an oversight investigation. Joining our host, Natalia Castro, will be Linda Miller from Grant Thornton, Andrea Peoples from the Small Business Administration, and Rebecca Shea from the Government Accountability Office.

Each May, the nation’s only living monument welcomes as many as 30,000 visitors to the heart of downtown Washington, DC to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. The names of the brave men and women who died in the line of duty are engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Currently there are 21,910 names engraved on the wall, each representing a legacy of service and sacrifice.

March is Women’s History Month. Here is a look at the women leading the National Nuclear Security Administration from the past to the present.

Huey and I experienced a wide range of environments in North Carolina. During the few weeks we were in the state, we faced below-freezing temperatures and days with highs in the seventies. We drove through rural farmland surrounding the Uwharrie Forest, suburban sprawl surrounding Research Triangle Park, and urban streets in Wilmington. We (tried to) visit the most modern of research facilities and saw the remains of a colonial settlement from over 200 years ago. We followed the trail of federal government involvement through all of these environments. I continue to be amazed at the vast scope of federal influence, which oversees the history and the future innovations coming out of North Carolina.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are both under a hiring freeze, according to reports from individuals working within the agencies. For TSA, the freeze appears to be based on budgetary constraints. For USCIS, the agency has indicated the decision was based on continued evaluations of staffing needs.

The Census Bureau has requested assistance by local law enforcement to protect employees going door to door to engage in the Decennial Census count. The count, which is set to begin in the continental U.S. in April, is the largest enumeration the federal government takes every ten years and requires more than a half million government employees, known as listers or enumerators, to visit homes to collect data on the U.S. population.

A former executive director of the South Arkansas Youth Services (SAYS), an Arkansas based non-profit, was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for unlawfully diverting more than $380,00 from the charity he operated to a state senator and the lobbying firm of a convicted lobbyist. The former executive director, Jerry Walsh, must also pay $515,631.56 in restitution.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) removed a preference-eligible veteran from his position as an attorney advisor near the end of his one-year probationary period due to allegedly poor performance. The employee filed for corrective action with the Merit Systems Protection Board, alleging that the agency violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) when it removed him because of his preference-eligible status. An MSPB administrative judge denied the request for corrective action, and the employee appealed to the Federal Circuit. On November 7, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the MSPB decision, and remanded the case to the MSPB for a determination of the appropriate corrective action. On January 22, 2020, before the remand took effect, the government filed a petition for rehearing en banc, asking that all judges of the Federal Circuit hear the case and rule on a “precedent-setting question of exceptional importance.”

Detect. Prevent. Enforce. Learn about the life in the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) have introduced the Ethical Use of Facial Recognition Act to stop federal government use of facial recognition until comprehensive ethical guidelines can be created. The legislation provides exceptions for some federal law enforcement use and creates a commission to recommend uses for facial recognition in the future.

A federal jury issued a guilty verdict against four defendants for their roles in running “pill mills” in Knoxville, Tennessee. A federal jury convicted Sylvia Hofstetter of Miami, Florida and Courtney Newman, Cynthia Clemons, and Holli Womack, all of Knoxville, Tennessee. The jury returned guilty verdicts against Hofstetter for a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) conspiracy, a drug conspiracy, money laundering, and maintaining drug-involved premises. The guilty verdicts against Newman, Clemons, and Womack were for maintaining drug-involved premises.

On September 2, 2013, Ronald and Sharon Jenkins went to buy crabs at the Warf in Washington, DC. Mr. Jenkins operated their vehicle and got into an altercation with another driver in the parking lot after the other driver “stole” a parking spot that Mr. Jenkins was waiting for. The Jenkinses found another spot, and went on to purchase crabs. Before they returned to their vehicle, a police radio reported “a traffic dispute that possibly resulted in some type of assault” in which “a knife had been pulled.” Officer Michael Davis responded to the scene and spoke with other officers there.