Don't blame DHS

This analysis misses the mark:

Your Department of Homeland Security, so hard at work securitzing the homeland it doesn't have time to do basic vetting of its employees:

A New Jersey fugitive wanted on insurance fraud charges since 2007 was working for the immigration division of the Department of Homeland Security in Georgia, despite a nationwide alert for her arrest, Essex County prosecutors said yesterday.

Bzzzt! Wrong, but thank you so much for playing.

Look, I know that the folks over at Reason love to hate on the Fed.Gov and everything, but this case is not the poster child they're looking for:

A spokesman for the immigration service said background checks are conducted on employees before they are hired and criminal history checks are performed every 10 years. Buchanan's most recent check was conducted in 2005, before charges were brought. Agency employees are also required to report any contact they have with law enforcement officers, the spokesman said.

So let's see: was Ms. Buchanan wanted when she applied for her job? No. Was she wanted when she had a second background check? No. Reasonable people can argue whether the background check should be ten years or less (or more), but it looks to me like DHS did their due diligence.

And what do we know about Ms. Buchanan? Other than that she is wanted for an insurance scam? She didn't change her name, or go on the lam. She showed up for work every day. That's some sly fugitive, right there.

I have this crazy idea - how about employers shouldn't have to keep snooping into their employees private lives, because if said employee is wanted by the Po-Po, Officer Friendly shows up at the place of work and arrests her? Crazy idea, I know.

Now, Nick Gillespe probably isn't responsible for the headline "Can DHS Protect Itself Against Criminal Employees?" But still, this is only half a step up from mouth breathing. There's plenty not to like in DHS, but this ain't it.