by Mark Silva

Some time has passed since Halloween, and for that matter the report of House Democrats who say that then-acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Chief Julie Myers showed "poor judgment" by giving an award at her agency's Halloween party to an employee wearing prison stripes, a wig of dreadlocks wig and face-darkening make-up.

The report of the Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee, released Tuesday, criticized Myers (right) for ordering staff to delete digital photographs of Myers with the costumed man, saying her actions "appeared to be an attempt to conceal her actions from public disclosure." The report disclosed that ICE learned on Nov. 8 -- a week after the party -- that the deleted photographs could be electronically restored.

In February, six weeks after Myers was confirmed by the Senate as the official head of ICE, the agency released the restored photos in response to a CNN Freedom of Information request.
The report calls on the Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, to conduct a full investigation into "the concealment of this incident."

When the costumed ICE employee showed up at the afternoon party, "several employees were shocked and offended by the costume -- some even left immediately after seeing the disguise," the report concludes. The costume "caused grave concern and distress, especially for the African-Americans that were present.''

When the costumed employee arrived at the judge's table, he told the judges, which included Myers, "I'm a Jamaican detainee from Krome (a federal detention center outside Miami), obviously, I've escaped," the report says. "The response from the judges was laughter. Not one of the judges expressed concern over the costume or its racial overtones.''

CNN reports that ICE spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said Myers took "full responsibility" for the incident and apologized for it. "She took corrective action to address it," Nantel said. "We had informed the employees long before this made it into the press."

Yet Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign was ready with a comment this evening: "I continue to be appalled about the inappropriate and racially insensitive activities that took place within our nation’s highest immigration enforcement entity, and am outraged that there was an effort to cover these incidents up. I have consistently called for a change of tone in the immigration debate and this incident points to the urgent need for that to happen.

"When the officials who are in charge of enforcing immigration laws display these kinds of prejudice, they become part of the problem instead of part of the solution,'' Clinton said.

CNN contributed to this report.