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ICE Agent Settles Harassment Suit With U.S. Government

The Associated Press has an update on a story we told you about this past summer:

"A senior agent for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the government have agreed to settle a discrimination lawsuit, according a court record filed Thursday.

"In a two-sentence notice, a lawyer for ICE Agent James T. Hayes Jr. said the 'parties have come to an agreement in principal' to settle the case for $175,000.

"Hayes' attorney in Maryland, Morris Fischer, wrote that along with the money, "a formal settlement agreement will be executed within the next several days" that will include other conditions, including Hayes keeping his job. It was not immediately clear who will pay Hayes, who is currently in charge of the agency's New York office."

If you remember, the suit alleged that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano hired two female friends who in turn tormented the men of the agency.

The case also led to the resignation ICE Chief of Staff Suzanne Barr, who said the allegations were unfounded. Still, she said at the time, she didn't want the investigation to keep "distracting from our critical work."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.
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