U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforces federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration to promote homeland security and public safety. (read more)
Official Website of the Department of Homeland Security
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- Who We Are
- Who We Are Right
Who We AreICE consists of three directorates to accomplish the agency’s mission, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and Management and Administration (M&A).
- Who We Are Right
- What We Do
- What We Do Right
What We DoICE's primary mission is to promote homeland security and public safety through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.
- What We Do Right
- Newsroom
- Newsroom Right
ICE’s top 5 news stories from the past weekCatch up on ICE’s most popular news stories from the week ending Feb. 27, 2015
- Newsroom Right
- Information Library
- Information Library Right
Freedom of Information ActTo ensure openness and transparency and to better serve those seeking more information about ICE and its operations, the agency centralized processing of all ICE-related Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in a single office.
- Information Library Right
Fact Sheets
Enforcement and Removal
287(g)
The 287(g) program, one of ICE's top partnership initiatives, allows a state and local law enforcement entity to enter into a partnership with ICE, under a joint Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), in order to receive delegated authority for immigration enforcement within their jurisdictions.
In 2009, ICE revised the 287(g) delegated authority program, strengthening public safety and ensuring consistency in immigration enforcement across the country by prioritizing the arrest and detention of criminal aliens.
Detention Reform
These reforms will address the vast majority of complaints about our immigration detention, while allowing ICE to maintain a significant, robust detention capacity to carry out serious immigration enforcement.
An immigration detainer (Form I-247) is a notice that DHS issues to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to inform the LEA that ICE intends to assume custody of an individual in the LEA's custody
Enforcement and Removal Operations
IHSC serves as the medical authority for ICE related to detainee medical issues. IHSC provides for the primary health care of detainees housed in IHSC-staffed detention centers, and oversees the financial authorization and payment for off-site specialty and emergency care for detainees in ICE custody.
IHSC serves as the medical authority from ICE-related to detainee healthcare issues. IHSC administers the primary healthcare for detainees housed in IHSC- staffed detention centers. In addition, IHSC oversees the financial authorization and payment for off-site specialty and emergency care services for detainees in ICE custody.
In 2009, ICE undertook a major detention reform effort to improve management and administration of the civil detention process for aliens held in ERO custody. This reform effort included the creation of the On-Site Detention Compliance Oversight Program.
Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) opened the Berks Family Residential Center in Leesport, Pennsylvania in 2001 to accommodate alien families in ICE custody.
ICE Air Operations (IAO) is the air transportation arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
In keeping with its commitment to reform the immigration detention system, ICE further revised its detention standards in 2011. The Performance-Based National Detention Standards 2011 (PBNDS 2011) reflect ICE's ongoing effort to tailor the conditions of immigration detention to its unique purpose while maintaining a safe and secure detention environment for staff and detainees, and represent an important step in detention reform.
The Karnes County Residential Center (KCRC) is the first facility housing ICE detainees built from the ground up with ICE's civil detention standards in mind. It represents a significant milestone in the agency's long-term effort to reform the immigration detention system.
Under the new policy, aliens who arrive in the United States at a port of entry and are found to have a credible fear of persecution or torture will automatically be considered by DRO for parole. This is a change from the prior policy, which required aliens to affirmatively request parole in writing.
The T. Don Hutto Residential Center (TDHRC) represents a unique and pioneering setting, offering the least restrictive environment permissible to manage persons in administrative U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. TDHRC's person-centered philosophy guides every interaction with the residents by understanding the often complex circumstances surrounding their detention. TDHRC continues to fulfill the mission of ICE while at the same time recognizing and valuing the dignity of the individual.
Homeland Security Investigations
Customs Cross Designation
ICE is authorized under Title 19 of U.S. Code 1401 to cross-designate other federal, state and local law enforcement officers to investigate and enforce customs laws.
Financial Crimes/Cornerstone
An enforcement initiative that leverages HSI’s combined investigative expertise in financial crimes and worksite enforcement to identify, disrupt and eliminate organizations seeking to exploit our financial industry to facilitate the employment of illegal aliens.
Targets the full array of methods used to smuggle bulk cash, including commercial and private passenger vehicles, commercial airline shipments and passengers, and pedestrians crossing U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada.
Through the SEARCH Initiative, HSI is actively seeking and pursuing investigative leads related to organized retail crime that have a nexus to transnational criminal organizations.
Human Smuggling & Trafficking Unit
In 2009, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiated an investigation targeting transportation companies involved in the illicit movement of recently smuggled aliens in the Phoenix and Tucson Arizona area. Dubbed 'Operation In Plain Sight' because of the brazen nature of the transportation companies' activities, this investigation marks the most comprehensive human smuggling investigation in ICE history.
ICE continues to enhance its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Strategy and plays a key role in DHS's anti-human trafficking initiative, the Blue Campaign. The Blue Campaign is organized around the three "Ps" of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA): Protection (victim assistance), Prevention (public awareness) and Prosecution (law enforcement efforts). The Blue Campaign also emphasizes a fourth "P": Partnerships.
According to the U.S. Department of State, the United States is a destination country for thousands of men, women, and children trafficked from all areas of the world. These victims are trafficked for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. Many of these victims are lured from their homes with false promises of well-paying jobs; instead, they are forced or coerced into prostitution, domestic servitude, farm or factory labor or other types of forced labor.
Law Enforcement Officer Mission Support
ICEPIC helps to identify suspicious identities and discovers possible non-obvious relationships among individuals and organizations. All ICEPIC activity is predicated on valid and ongoing law enforcement investigations.
National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Coordination Center
Established in each of the 26 HSI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) offices across the country the IPTETs build on the investigative best practices identified by the IPR Center, its partner agencies and private industry. The IPTETs use an informal task force approach to enhance coordination of IP theft investigations between federal, state and local law enforcement partners in their local area.
The mission of the IPR Center is to insure national security by protecting the public’s health and safety, the U.S. economy, and the war fighters, and to stop predatory and unfair trade practices that threaten the global economy.
Combats the importation of substandard tainted, and counterfeit products that pose health and safety risks to consumers
The IPR Center and its partner agencies aggressively pursue those who steal from American businesses and ultimately the American workers who work to produce the real goods and products.
Uses enforcement actions to raise awareness of the dangers posed by counterfeit medicines and medical devices being sold on the Internet
The National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center's (IPR Center) Outreach & Training Unit engages in partnerships with public and private sectors to combat Intellectual Property (IP) theft through its Operation Joint Venture (Joint Venture) initiative.
National Security
One of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) highest priorities is to prevent illicit procurement networks, terrorist groups, and hostile nations from illegally obtaining U.S. military products, sensitive dual-use technology, weapons of mass destruction, or chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials.
Human rights violators, including those who have participated in war crimes and acts of genocide, torture, extrajudicial killing, violations of religious freedom, and other acts of persecution, frequently seek to evade justice by seeking shelter in the United States.
Success Stories – ICE Uses Immigration and Customs Authorities to Address National Security Threats
Operation Predator
Each year, millions of children fall prey to sexual predators.
Smuggling - Arms, Contraband, Cultural Artifacts
Customs laws allow ICE to seize national treasures, especially if they have been reported lost or stolen. ICE works with experts to authenticate the items, determine their true ownership and return them to their countries of origin.
The Shadow Wolves comprise a U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tactical patrol unit based on the Native American Tohono O’odham Nation in southern Arizona. Shadow Wolf officers are known for their ability to track alien and drug smugglers as they attempt to smuggle their illegal commodities across the border.
The in-bond system allows merchandise not intended for entry into U.S. commerce to travel through the United States without being subject to duties and taxes. The in-bond system makes this feasible to facilitate trade to foreign markets.
Investigating the loss or looting of cultural heritage properties and returning them to their countries of origin are an important part of ICE’s diverse mission. ICE has authorities that target a wide range of criminal activities, many of them involving smuggling and trafficking, both of goods and people. The agency often investigates leads to art and artifacts that are important evidence of the history and cultural heritage another nation. ICE takes pride in bringing to justice those who would trade in such items for personal profit and in returning to other nations these priceless items.
Student Exchange and Visitor Program
The effects of a crisis can be lessened by planning; a COOP plan will allow your school to continue critical operations until the crisis situation normalizes. SEVP and DHS strongly encourage you to review the basic tenets of COOP planning and utilize the available COOP planning resources, such as those included with this Fact Sheet.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced special relief for certain Haitian F-1 students who have suffered severe economic hardship as result of the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced special relief for certain F-1 Syrian students who have suffered severe economic hardship as a direct result of the civil unrest in Syria since March 2011. This relief applies only to students who were lawfully present in the United States in F-1 status as of April 3, 2012, and enrolled in an institution that is certified by ICE's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).
Worksite Enforcement
On November 6, 1986, the enactment of the Immigration Reform and Control Act required employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of their employees and created criminal and civil sanctions for employment related violations.
On April 30, 2009, ICE HSI rolled out a revised worksite enforcement strategy. The strategy prioritizes the use of criminal prosecutions against employers.
Management and Administration
Chief Financial Officer - Management and Budget
ICE has an annual budget of more than $5.7 billion, with Fiscal Year 2010 (FY10) budget figures in key categories.
Office of Human Capital - Careers
The Student Volunteer Program offers unpaid, professional training opportunities to undergraduate and graduate college students. These opportunities provide work experience related to the students’ academic programs and provide them an opportunity to explore career options, as well as develop their personal and professional skills. These are uncompensated positions and do not have to be announced nor do they count towards existing vacancies.