The Foreign Service Journal, December 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018 63 FSNs Have a Critical Liaison Function n CLAUDIA CORDERO, CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATOR, REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE, U.S. EMBASSY MEXICO CITY, MEXICO Criminal fraud investigators here deal with both U.S. and Mexican fugitives fleeing from justice on a daily basis. We prevent Mexican citizens wanted in Mexico from crossing the border or obtaining a valid visa to travel to the United States. Sometimes we help the U.S. law enforcement community by working with law enforcement contacts in the host nation to return U.S. fugitives to the United States. ARSO investigators in Mexico City contribute to keeping the U.S.-Mexico border secure by working with Diplomatic Security Service field offices in the United States and other law enforcement agencies in the United States. Also, ARSO-Is in other countries provide reciprocal assistance with cases such as passport and visa imposters, Amber Alerts for missing children, trafficking-in-persons cases and human smuggling cases. We are here to be the liaison between the host-nation authorities and our American supervisors, so Locally Employed staff should routinely be building contacts. In most cases, it is the U.S. embassy that requests support and information from our host-nation contacts. Sometimes LE staff need American officers to attend a meeting with host-nation contacts to convey gratitude or offer assistance, especially in sensitive cases that involve security. It can be hard to get Mexican authorities to support our cases because they face multiple competing priorities. It is often difficult to explain why our cases should be prioritized, but it is part of my job to explain the bigger picture and place our case or investigation within the context of their own work. For instance, our investigation may not only deal with fraudulent docu- FSN Emergency Relief Fund: How You Can Help I n 1983, after the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Lebanon, a group of Locally Employed staff at our embassy in Santiago, Chile, wanted to help LE staff in Beirut who were injured in the attack, so they passed a hat and collected funds for the families of their Leba- nese counterparts. The funds they raised were aug- mented by AFSA, DACOR and others. In all, $84,000 was distributed among family members of LE staff in Beirut, and the Foreign Service National Emergency Relief Fund was born. Since that time, the fund has provided financial assis- tance to Locally Employed staff who have been affected by a crisis at post, such as a natural disaster, civil unrest, targeted attacks or an injury in the line of duty. The fund is composed entirely of donations from For- eign Service members, groups such as AFSA, AAFSW and DACOR, and LE staffmembers themselves. Over the past 10 years, according to Chanel Wallace of the Office of Emergencies in the Diplomatic & Consular Service (M/EDCS), more than $3 million in donations have been distributed to LE staff and their families worldwide. Donations are tax-deductible and can be made by Civil Service employees, Foreign Service members, LE staff and private-sector individuals. Because there are no administrative costs, 100 percent of donations go to LE staff in need. How to donate: Secure online donations can be made directly from your bank account or by credit/debit card to pay.gov. Checks made payable to the U.S. Department of State, designated for the FSN Emergency Relief Fund, may be sent to: U.S. Department of State, Attn: K Fund and Gift Fund Coordinator, 2201 C Street NW, Room 3214, Washington DC 20520. State, LE staff and overseas American employees of other federal agencies on the Department of State payroll can make contributions by payroll deduction. Cash contributions in U.S. dollars or local currency can be made through the embassy or consulate cashier. For more information on the FSN Emergency Relief Fund, go to 3 FAM 7160 (https://fam.state.gov/ FAM/03FAM/03FAM7160.html) or email MEDCS@ state.gov. Claudia Cordero.