Biden admin dumps Trump admin agreement with ICE union

The Biden administration is ditching a contract signed near the conclusion of the Trump administration which could have enabled a union of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workers to hinder the Biden administration's immigration policy agenda.

The agreement with the union, which former Homeland Security Deputy Director Ken Cuccinelli signed the day before Biden was sworn in as president, would have enabled the union to "indefinitely delay" the implementing of agency policies, according to a Government Accountability Institute whistle-blower complaint, CBS News reported.

"The complaint, filed earlier this month, said the contract would effectively grant AFGE National ICE Council 118, a 7,500-member organization that twice endorsed former President Donald Trump, 'veto authority' over certain policy-making at ICE," according to CBS News.

A DHS spokesperson said that ICE and the union have been informed via writing that the agreement has been "disapproved," according to the outlet.

"As part of routine process and provided for by statute, the Department conducted a review of the terms of the agreement and determined that it was not negotiated in the interest of DHS and has been disapproved because it is not in accordance with applicable law," the DHS spokesperson told the outlet. "DHS will make policy decisions in accordance with the law and based on what's best for national security, public safety, and border security while upholding our nation's values."

Cuccinelli stood by his decision to sign the contract: "We resolved many long-lingering issues with the ICE union, and it was done with strong legal guidance all along the way from the Office of the General Counsel, so we know it was thoroughly legal," Cuccinelli told CBS News. "If I was not confident that the contract was both legal and good policy for ICE, I would not have signed off on it."