ICE Chief of Staff Suzanne Barr has resigned after allegations of lewd behavior. In a letter to ICE Director John Morton, Barr denied the sexual harassment claims made against her.
“As such, I feel it is incumbent upon me to take every step necessary to prevent further harm to the agency and to prevent this from further distracting from our critical work. Therefore, it is with great regret that I submit my resignation as Chief of Staff for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
Last month James Hayes filed a lawsuit saying women closely connected to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano were promoted over him. He also claimed Ms. Barr instilled a “frat-house” atmosphere at DHS “to humiliate and intimidate male employees.”
Mr. Hayes reported that Ms. Barr “moved the entire contents of the offices of three male employees to the men’s bathroom.” She also talked about explicit sexual acts at another male employee in a hotel room and took another male agent’s Blackberry and sent lewd messages to his female supervisor.
This case has sparked the interest of Representative Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. His committee will review the case.