Immigration agencies to pay their informers

Mike Madden
Republic Washington Bureau
Aug. 7, 2006 12:00 AM

WASHINGTON - Help bust a company for employing undocumented immigrants, and you could get cash from the federal government in return.

The agencies charged with patrolling the border and enforcing immigration laws, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, plan to spend $2 million paying informers next year, with the goal of infiltrating criminal gangs that smuggle drugs, weapons and people into the country.

Authorities say informers provide invaluable help for agents, making them an important weapon for immigration enforcement. But officials wouldn't provide many details of how compensation works because of the confidential nature of informer assignments.

"We always welcome tips from the public, including calls to our hotline (1-866-347-2423)," ICE spokesman Dean Boyd said.

Still, the amount spent on informers represents only a fraction of the Department of Homeland Security's nearly $33 billion budget for next year, and some critics think the government needs to do more to get inside information about smuggling, document forgery and other crimes tied to illegal immigration.