Morale Among 1811 Special Agents
Unfortunately, 2020 has culminated a number of issues negatively impacting morale among federal law enforcement officers. Agencies such as the ATF, FBI, and ICE-HSI have been punching bags for political operatives on both sides of the aisle; especially when it furthers their political agenda. The public has forgotten their basic civics lessons, laws are passed by the Legislative Branch & must be enforced by the Executive. If you don't like immigration, firearms or political corruption laws; feel free to vote out your congressional representative. Accusing special agents of being the "deep state" or comparing them to "Nazi stormtroopers" demonstrates comical ignorance of the U.S. constitution.
Although the 1811 profession has not collectively done a deep dive into the situation compared to their Police Officer counterparts ( 2018 Police Workforce Study ), anecdotally, there does appear to be some fallout. The FBI reported that although overall applications for the special agent profession have regained traction (32,000 in 2019), they are still not even close to the high in 2009 of 68,500. Relatedly, special agents that are retirement eligible at 20 years are now more likely than ever to punch out with a pension & start a new career. Those with the least amount of experience and seniority are now remaining in a profession that lacks significant mentorship ranks.
Special Agents of the U.S. Government are consummate professionals, well trained and collectively bring unmatched levels of investigative capabilities. They are loyal public servants who take an oath to uphold the constitution. 1811s will continue to do their jobs to the best of their abilities, in spite of the current landscape.
