It seems like everywhere I look, I see another incident in which groups of Whites dress up in “costumes” that depict people of color in racially stereotypical and offensive ways. These kinds of incidents happen not just around Halloween, but all throughout the year. We mainly hear about them happening on college campuses in which a particular student group (virtually all the time they are almost exclusively White) hold “theme parties” that set the stage for such racist caricatures.

But now, as MSNBC reports, a recent similar incident at the Immigration and Custom Enforcement Agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, illustrates that this kind of racial insensitivity and utter ignorance is not limited to just young college students:

A top immigration official has apologized after awarding “most original costume” to a Homeland Security Department employee who dressed in prison stripes, dreadlocks and dark makeup for a Halloween gathering at the agency.

Julie Myers, assistant secretary overseeing Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, was part of a three-judge panel that lauded the costume, worn by a white employee, last Wednesday. She also posed for a photo with him. . . .

The agency Myers heads is responsible for apprehending and jailing violators of immigration and customs laws, including conducting raids at work sites to round up undocumented workers. . . .

“He was clearly trying to not be Caucasian. How dark or light he is, is beside the point. It is a costume that people did find and would find offensive that was sanctioned by the executives,” [Lisa Navarrete of the National Council of La Raza] said. “There’s obviously a sensitivity issue that ICE needs to address with its own staff.”

Absolutely incredible. Like I said, I might expect this kind of blatant ignorance from college students, but it is doubly offensive when it’s perpetrated by government officials whose job is to interact with communities of color in a fair, balanced, and just manner.

It really makes me question whether officials at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency are truly qualified to be in those positions, or whether they are nothing more than clueless and unqualified political appointees who are totally in over their heads.