U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
ICE logo
HSI Special Agent badge
HSI Special Agent badge
ERO Officer badge
ERO Officer badge
Motto"Protecting National Security and Upholding Public Safety"
HSI's motto: Honor, Service, Integrity
Agency overview
FormedMarch 1, 2003 (2003-03-01)
Preceding agency
Employees20,000+ (2016)
Annual budget$7.6 billion (FY 2018)[1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionUnited States
Specialist jurisdictions
Operational structure
Headquarters500 12th Street SW
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Agency executives
Parent agencyUnited States Department of Homeland Security
Website
ice.gov

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety.[3][4]

The ICE mission is executed through the enforcement of more than 500 federal statutes and focuses on customs violations, immigration enforcement, preventing terrorism and combating the illegal movement of people and goods.[5][6] ICE has two primary and distinct law enforcement components, namely, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO); in addition to three supporting divisions: Management & Program Administration, Office of Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) and Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).[7]

Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which primarily deals with the deportation and removal of illegal aliens, is among the most public and contentious function of ICE. ERO maintains the custodial facilities used to detain people that are illegally present in the United States. In interior offices, ERO officers primarily conduct targeted enforcement operations to apprehend aliens engaged in serious criminal activity. For example, in fiscal year 2020, 90% of those aliens apprehended by ERO had criminal convictions or pending charges at the time of their administrative arrest. This FY 2020 arrest statistic includes 1,800 homicide related offenses, 1,600 kidnappings, 3,800 robberies, 37,000 assaults, and 10,000 sex crimes.[8] At border offices, ERO officers receive and detain illegal aliens apprehended by the United States Border Patrol. Illegal aliens apprehended at the border have significantly lower levels of criminal history than those arrested by ERO in the interior of the United States.[9]

ICE maintains domestic offices throughout the United States and attachés at major U.S. diplomatic missions overseas. ICE personnel (special agents and officers) do not patrol American borders; rather, that role is performed by the Border Patrol.[10][11][12] ERO and HSI operate as two independent law enforcement agencies and have completely separate mission statements. HSI is focused on the disruption of transnational crime, where as ERO is responsible for the apprehension, detention and removal of illegal aliens.[13]

The Acting Director is Patrick Lechleitner.[2] The agency has not had a Senate-confirmed director since Sarah Saldaña stepped down on January 20, 2017.[14]

  1. ^ Cristobal Ramón, Interior Enforcement Under the Trump Administration by The Numbers: Part One, Removals, Bipartisan Policy Project (June 19, 2019).
  2. ^ a b c "ICE Leadership". U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  3. ^ "What We Do". U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  4. ^ "Enforcement and Removal Operations". U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  5. ^ "What We Do". U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  6. ^ "Enforcement and Removal Operations". U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  7. ^ "Who We Are". U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  8. ^ "ERO FY 2020 Achievements". U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  9. ^ Gramlich, John. "How border apprehensions, ICE arrests and deportations have changed under Trump". Pew Research Center. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  10. ^ Nixon, Ron; Qiu, Linda (July 3, 2018). "What Is ICE and Why Do Critics Want to Abolish It?". The New York Times. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  11. ^ "Calls to Abolish ICE Not 'Open Borders'". FactCheck.org. Annenberg Public Policy Center. July 3, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  12. ^ Folley, Aris (June 29, 2018). "ICE chief to protesters: We're not the ones separating families". Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  13. ^ "ICE". U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  14. ^ Kanno-Youngs, Zolan; Tackett, Michael (May 5, 2019). "Trump Names Mark Morgan, Former Head of Border Patrol, to Lead ICE". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 6, 2019.