The Columbia Association of U.S. Customs & Affiliated Federal Agencies honored Louis Carducci of the Customs and Border Protection and Michael Limb of the Asian American Council at the 70th Annual Dinner and Dance, Both men were praised by President Phil Madellena for their service to the Custom’s community; Carducci for his work at JFK Airport and now as Assistant Director, Border Security NY Field Office, and Limb, Executive Director, of the Asian Council as a bridge between law enforcement and the Asian community for many years.
Frank Russo, Acting Director, Field Ops, New York, took a few minutes to comment on the dedication of Carducci and the custom’s officers in general in the face of the immigration struggle the country is now experiencing with strict enforcement and political overtones. He said that “ his officers are able to put the distractions aside and do the job that sometimes tugs at their hearts as well” He cited the ommission of media in talking about the the tough conditions that the officers face daily. One recent posting of actual immigration officers exposed names on Twitter which subsequently threatened these officers with death threats directed as his and other federal officers. Russo was hopeful that Congress would tackle the immigration problem and make needed changes to the law.
Abrupt change is not new to Customs, Months ago the President implemented a drastic immigration change to overseas nationalities which added pressure on the agency, then the Zero-tolerance border enforcement in place and now the tariffs on imported steel. According to one officer, the recently quickly imposed 25 percent tariff and absolute quotas on steel are adding to the workload of officers at JFK Airport. But he also added that this is just part of the job. As Russo said “his officers are professionals and are able to put distractions aside and do their jobs”.
