Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has granted his workers greater than $1 billion value of extra taxpayer-funded trip time, in line with division staffers who say Mr. Mayorkas is utilizing taxpayers’ cash in an ill-fated try to win affection from an alienated workforce.

Mr. Mayorkas, who has been on the job for roughly two and a half years, has permitted 115 hours of extra depart per worker up to now. That contains 45 hours, or greater than a full additional week off, in his first yr, adopted by 48 hours in 2022 and 24 hours up to now this yr.

Figuring 260,000 division workers and a mean hourly pay of about $40 per worker, which means Mr. Mayorkas has doled out no less than $1.2 billion in extra taxpayer-funded trip time. Law enforcement and high-cost-of-living locality pay may imply the precise determine is considerably greater.

“The numbers are astounding,” mentioned Emilio Gonzalez, who ran one of many division’s companies within the Bush years. “You’re hovering at just over a billion dollars right now, on the low end. And for an agency that’s constantly pleading poverty, that’s a lot of money.”

The holidays have grow to be a little bit of a joke amongst division workers, and a headache for managers who say there’s a lot additional time floating round that they've bother holding observe of all of it.

The Washington Times made a number of inquiries to Homeland Security for this story over greater than per week. A press officer mentioned the division was “working” on a response however didn't present one by publication time.

In his messages asserting the additional day without work, Mr. Mayorkas calls it a reward for placing up with powerful circumstances and challenges.

In December 2021, whereas doling out a further three full days of trip, the secretary mused on the continuing pandemic, the border chaos, hate crimes and cyber assaults.

“It has been a difficult year, yet because of you all it has been a year of tremendous achievement and service,” he mentioned, calling the additional depart “recognition of your sacrifice, dedication and achievements.”

This March, as Homeland Security celebrated its twentieth yr of existence, Mr. Mayorkas mentioned the event merited one other break day for employees “in recognition of your extraordinary sacrifices and contributions in the service of our country.”

In June, forward of Independence Day, the secretary granted one other eight hours as an indication of his “gratitude. for everything you do for our great country.”

The depart is often out there to be taken any time via the tip of the next yr. So the additional vacation he granted for July 4 may be banked via the tip of 2024.

Chad Wolf, who served as appearing secretary within the Trump administration, mentioned day without work is allowed, however it’s typically issued on a case-by-case foundation as an award.

“Handing out time off is extremely unusual and is typically reserved for extraordinary service,” he mentioned.

Presidents do sometimes grant a government-wide trip day, usually with an additional day round Christmastime.

But it appears out of the unusual for a division head to be so profligate.

A spokeswoman on the Defense Department, the federal government’s largest, mentioned she didn’t suppose they issued additional depart.

And a spokesman for the Veterans Affairs Department, which rivals Homeland Security in measurement, mentioned they don’t grant depart past what has been approved by the White House of the Office of Personnel Management.

OPM didn’t reply to an inquiry from The Times for this story.

Homeland Security recurrently ranks close to the underside on the federal government’s annual worker satisfaction survey, in a pattern that stretches again properly earlier than Mr. Mayorkas’s time as secretary, or perhaps a earlier stint as deputy secretary within the Obama years.

The sprawling division has all the time felt a bit like Frankenstein’s monster, stitched along with elements cannibalized from different departments after the 2001 terrorist assaults.

In current years the chaos on the border has proved notably draining, with workers from the division’s three immigration companies being pushed to attempt to course of and welcome the brand new unauthorized arrivals.

Employees in these companies noticed Mr. Mayorkas’s additional trip as an try at paying attempting to purchase worker’s affection.

“Trying to buy friends,” one worker mentioned.

Mr. Gonzalez mentioned if that's Mr. Mayorkas’s purpose, it’s not more likely to work.

“If morale is low, this is not going to solve the morale issue, but it is going to aggravate the financial issue that the agency faces,” he mentioned.

The $1.2 billion is a fraction of Homeland Security’s annual finances, however it does characterize a major chunk of change nonetheless.

President Biden has simply submitted a request to Congress for an emergency injection of $1.4 billion into Customs and Border Protection to deal with the chaos on the border.

Mr. Biden has additionally requested practically $900 million in taxpayer cash subsequent yr for USCIS, an company that's presupposed to be run on charges paid by immigrants or their sponsors.

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