U.S. Customs Freezes Hiring
The U.S. Customs Service said today it is instituting a hiring freeze for 3,000 positions involving narcotics interdiction because a federal judge overturned the agency’s employee drug-testing program.
Customs Commissioner William von Raab said in a statement filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans that the hiring, part of the Reagan Administration’s and Congress’ stepped-up war on drugs, “cannot go forward at this time without drug screening.” Von Raab’s decision came as the Justice Department announced it was appealing a Nov. 12 decision by U.S. District Judge Robert Collins declaring the agency’s drug testing program unconstitutional.
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