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Law Enforcement Support Center

Law Enforcement Support Center

Law Enforcement Support Center

The center protects and defends the US by sharing timely and relevant ICE information with our law enforcement partners around the world.

Located in Williston, Vermont, the Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) is integral to Department of Homeland Security efforts to protect and defend the United States.

The LESC serves as single, national point-of-contact – 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year – providing real-time assistance to federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement agencies regarding noncitizens suspected, arrested or convicted of criminal activity. The LESC provides a diverse support system through two functional units.

Enforcement Unit

  • Communications Section
    The LESC Communication Section’s primary mission is to provide immediate telephonic assistance to law enforcement partners. It provides around-the-clock immigration status and identity information on foreign-born criminals, gang members, terrorists and transnational threats. It also responds to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) checks, coordinates and aids local law enforcement agencies performing Immigration Alien Queries (IAQs), and it connects ICE duty officers and agents to law enforcement agencies for real-time response. The communication section typically responds to more than 55,000 calls annually.
  • Lead Development Section
    The LESC Lead Development Section conducts highly sensitive investigations and analysis to produce near real-time Investigative Referrals as part of ICE’s mission to remove noncitizens from the U.S. who pose a threat to public safety and national security. LESC officers in this section oversee a proactive targeting portfolio by analyzing lead sources and incoming law enforcement information — including Homeland Security Investigations Tip Line referrals, IAQs and NCIC hit confirmation requests — so necessary enforcement action can be taken by ICE field officers against removable criminal noncitizens such as sex offenders, national security threats and recidivist criminals.
  • National Crime Information Center Section
    This LESC NCIC Section is responsible for entering NCIC data and validating NCIC records for all of ICE. The section also provides confirmation of NCIC criminal warrants, administrative warrants and prior deported felon lookouts. The total volume of records managed by this section typically exceed 340,000.

Operations Unit

The LESC Operations Unit processes biometric and biographic IAQs originating from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, Brady Act firearms queries, Office of Personnel Management queries and Secret Service queries. The unit typically processes more than 1.5 million IAQs annually.

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