U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Difference between revisions

'''U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement''' ('''ICE''' {{IPAc-en|aɪ|s}}) is a [[Federal law enforcement in the United States|federal law enforcement agency]] under the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|U.S. Department of Homeland Security]]. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from cross-border crime and illegalundocumented immigration that threaten [[National security of the United States|national security]] and public safety.<ref>{{cite web |title=What We Do |url=https://www.ice.gov/overview |website=U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement |publisher=U.S. Department of Homeland Security |access-date=14 July 2019 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604010102/https://www.ice.gov/overview |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Enforcement and Removal Operations |url=https://www.ice.gov/ero |website=U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement |publisher=U.S. Department of Homeland Security |access-date=14 July 2019}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |title=What We Do |url=https://www.ice.gov/overview |publisher=U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement |access-date=July 30, 2018 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604010102/https://www.ice.gov/overview |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Enforcement and Removal Operations |url=https://www.ice.gov/ero#wcm-survey-target-id |publisher=U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement |access-date=April 9, 2019}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ice.gov/about-ice |publisher=U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement |access-date=24 November 2021|title=Who We Are}}</ref>

Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which primarily deals with the deportation and removal of illegalundocumented aliensimmigrants, 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ice.gov/features/ERO-2020|access-date=24 November 2021 |publisher=U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement |title=ERO FY 2020 Achievements}}</ref> At border offices, ERO officers receive and detain illegalundocumented aliensimmigrants apprehended by the [[United States Border Patrol]]. IllegalUndocumented aliensimmigrants apprehended at the border have significantly lower levels of criminal history than those arrested by ERO in the interior of the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gramlich|first=John|title=How border apprehensions, ICE arrests and deportations have changed under Trump|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/02/how-border-apprehensions-ice-arrests-and-deportations-have-changed-under-trump/|access-date=2021-11-25 |publisher=Pew Research Center|language=en-US}}</ref>

ICE maintains domestic offices throughout the United States and attachés at major [[List of diplomatic missions of the United States|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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/us/politics/fact-check-ice-immigration-abolish.html |title=What Is ICE and Why Do Critics Want to Abolish It?|access-date=July 5, 2018|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 3, 2018|last1=Nixon|first1=Ron|last2=Qiu|first2=Linda}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.factcheck.org/2018/07/calls-to-abolish-ice-not-open-borders/|title=Calls to Abolish ICE Not 'Open Borders' |work=FactCheck.org|publisher=[[Annenberg Public Policy Center]]|date=July 3, 2018|access-date=July 5, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=httphttps://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/394937-ice-chief-to-protesters-were-not-the-ones-separating-families/|title=ICE chief to protesters: We're not the ones separating families |first=Aris|last=Folley|date=June 29, 2018 |access-date=July 5, 2018}}</ref> 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 illegalundocumented aliensimmigrants.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ICE|url=https://www.ice.gov/|access-date=2021-11-25 |publisher=U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement |language=en}}</ref>

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was formed under the [[Homeland Security Act]] of 2002, following the events of [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001]]. With the establishment of the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]], the functions and jurisdictions of several border and revenue enforcement agencies were combined and consolidated into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Consequently, ICE is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security and the second largesta contributor to the FBI's [[Joint Terrorism Task Force]].

HSI is the primary investigative arm of Department of Homeland Security and consists of more than 10,300 employees who are assigned to over 210 cities throughout the U.S. and 80 international offices in 53 countries across the world. Approximately 7,100+000 Special Agents (Criminal Investigators) are included among the over 10,300 HSI employees, making it the second largest investigative service in the United States, behind the Federal Bureau of Investigation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.specialagents.org/|title=Special Agents Blog|website=www.specialagents.org}}</ref>

HSI special agents investigate violations of more than 400 U.S. laws that threaten the national security of the United States such as counter-proliferation; counter-terrorism; human smuggling and trafficking; weapons smuggling and export enforcement; narcotics smuggling and trafficking; document and benefit fraud; the manufacturing, sale, and use of counterfeit immigration and identity documents; human rights violations; [[Transnational gangs|transnational gang]] activity; financial crimes, including money laundering and bulk cash smuggling; cyber crime; child exploitation and sex tourism; trade crimes such as commercial fraud and [[intellectual property theft]]; smuggling of counterfeit pharmaceuticals and other merchandise; mass-marketing fraud; art theft; international cultural property and antiquities crimes; and visa security.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ice-difficulties-20190319-story.html|title=ICE's investigative arm fears it might have a branding problem|last=Mejia|first=Brittny|date=March 19, 2019|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=March 19, 2019}}</ref> HSI agents can be requested to provide security for VIPs, and also augment the [[U.S. Secret Service]] during overtaxed times such as special security events and elections.

HSI was formerly known as the ICE Office of Investigations (OI). HSI special agents investigate the largest range of crimes and have the statutory authority to enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act (Title 8), U.S. customs laws (Title 19), general federal crimes (Title 18), the [[Controlled Substances Act]] (Title 21), with Department of Justice approval, as well as Titles 5, 6, 12, 22, 26, 28, 31, 46, 49, and 50 of the U.S. Code.

The largest cadre of Special Agents are located within Domestic Operations.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Homeland Security Investigations|url=https://www.ice.gov/about-ice/homeland-security-investigations|access-date=2021-11-25|website=www.ice.gov|language=en}}</ref> HSI is primarily a criminal investigative agency and consistently leads the feds in arrests. In FY 2020, HSI Special Agents made 31,915 criminal arrests, rescued or identified 1,012 child exploitation victims, and seized $341 million worth of counterfeit goods, 6,195 lbs of fentanyl and $1.8 billion in currency & assets from criminal organizations.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ice.gov/about-ice/homeland-security-investigations |website=HSI Official Site |publisher=ICE HSI |access-date=24 November 2021|title=Homeland Security Investigations}}</ref>

The enforcement of immigration laws was historically supported by both major political parties within the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Democrats Used To Talk About 'Criminal Immigrants,' So What Changed The Party?|language=en|work=NPR.org|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/02/19/694804917/democrats-used-to-talk-about-criminal-immigrants-so-what-changed-the-party|access-date=2021-11-25}}</ref> In 1995, then President Clinton (Democrat) stated the following in his State of the Union address: "All Americans, not only in the states most heavily affected, but in every place in this country, are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegalundocumented aliensimmigrants entering our country. The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants. The public service they use impose burdens on our taxpayers. That's why our administration has moved aggressively to secure our borders more by hiring a record number of new border guards, by deporting twice as many criminal aliens as ever before, by cracking down on illegal hiring, by barring welfare benefits to illegalundocumented aliensimmigrants. In the budget I will present to you we will try to do more to speed the deportation of illegalundocumented aliensimmigrants who are arrested for crimes, to better identify illegalundocumented aliensimmigrants in the workplace as recommended by the commission headed by former Congresswoman Barbara Jordan."<ref>{{Citation|title=Bill Clinton on Illegal Immigration at 1995 State of the Union|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IrDrBs13oA|language=en|access-date=2021-11-25}}</ref> Similarly in the 1996 State of the Union, then President Clinton (Democrat) stated the following: "But there are some areas that the federal government should not leave and should address and address strongly. One of these areas is the problem of illegal immigration. After years of neglect, this administration has taken a strong stand to stiffen the protection of our borders. We are increasing border controls by 50 percent. We are increasing inspections to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants. And tonight, I announce I will sign an executive order to deny federal contracts to businesses that hire illegal immigrants. Let me be very clear about this: We are still a nation of immigrants; we should be proud of it. We should honor every legal immigrant here, working hard to become a new citizen. But we are also a nation of laws."<ref>{{Citation|title=The 1996 State of the Union (Address to a Joint Session of the Congress)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXRLW1KEtvo|language=en|access-date=2021-11-25}}</ref>

The U.S. Border Patrol apprehended more than 1.3 million illegal crossers in the first eight months of 2021; with a total of 1.6 million apprehensions in Fiscal Year 2021 (highest on record).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gilliland|first=Donald|date=2021-11-15|title=Situation at the southern border worse that you probably realize|url=https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/581513-situation-at-the-southern-border-worse-that-you-probably-realize/|access-date=2021-11-25|website=TheHill|language=en}}</ref> This figure does not include a daily count of 1,000+ illegal migrants who successfully evade the Border Patrol. Many of these migrants are now coming from third party countries and filing asylum claims, which have log jammed DOJ administrative courts. Not all migrants come from Mexico alone, many have come from other areas, such as: South America, Eastern Europe, Turkey and India. of those who arrived in the United States, two thirds were adults without children. Inversely, there was a record of 145,000 children that arrived in the United States unaccompanied.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Immigration Crisis |url=https://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqr_ht_immigration_2021 |access-date=2022-12-16 |journal=CQ Researcher |date=December 14, 2021 |language=en|last1=Ladika |first1=Susan }}</ref> For example, in FY 2014 there were 56,912 asylum claims, which jumped to 142,760 in FY 2017 and are now even higher.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Griffith|first=Bryan|date=2018-11-10|title=Asylum, Removal and Immigration Courts|url=https://cis.org/Fact-Sheet/Asylum-Removal-and-Immigration-Courts|access-date=2021-11-25|website=CIS.org|language=English}}</ref> Most undocumented immigrants are released into the United States after processing and ordered to report for a future court date. According to the American Immigration Council, 83% of nondetained immigrants with completed or pending removal cases attended all of their hearings and 96% of nondetained immigrants represented by a lawyer attended all of their hearings.<ref>{{Cite journal |title= 11 Years of Government Data Reveal That Immigrants Do Show Up for Court |url= https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/news/11-years-government-data-reveal-immigrants-do-show-court |access-date=2021-01-28 |journal= American Immigration Council |date=January 28, 2021 |language=en|last1=Frausto |first1= Maria }}</ref> This has been colloquially referred to by U.S. Conservatives as the [[Mexico–United States border crisis|Border Crisis]], thisand it has become a significant problem to solve for presidential administrations.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

In 2011, HSI Special Agents Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila, while working in Mexico to combat the flow of illicit narcotics, were ambushed by members of the Los Zetas drug cartel. Special Agent Zapata was killed while Special Agent Avila suffered life-threatening injuries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=An ICE agent was killed overseas, but his killing is not a crime under US law: Analysis|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ice-agent-killed-overseas-killing-crime-us-law/story?id=69108435|access-date=2021-11-25|website=ABC News|language=en}}</ref> This was the first assassination of U.S. law enforcement agents since the infamous and gruesome murder of DEA Special Agent [[Kiki Camarena|Enrique "Kiki" Camarena]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Killed by a cartel. Betrayed by his own? US reexamines murder of federal agent featured in 'Narcos'|url=https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/politics/2020/02/27/enrique-camarena-dea-agent-murder-narcos-mexico/2566023001/|access-date=2021-11-25|website=www.usatoday.com|date=February 27, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Several members of the drug cartel were extradited to the U.S. and charged for the murders, however, the applicable statute revealed a potential loophole that made it inapplicable for violations committed outside the U.S. In November 2021, President Joe Biden signed the "Jaime Zapata & Victor Avila Federal Officers & Employees Protection Act," which helped extend legal protection to all U.S. personnel working overseas.<ref>{{Cite web|last=staff|first=Gray News|title=Biden signs 3 law enforcement support bills into law|url=https://www.wect.com/2021/11/18/biden-sign-3-law-enforcement-support-bills-into-law/|access-date=2021-11-25|website=www.wect.com|date=November 18, 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

Due to the United States detention bed quota, mandated by Congress, that number will increase rather than decrease. The quota mandates at least 34,000 beds available for immigrants on any given day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.immigrantjustice.org/eliminate-detention-bed-quota|title=Detention Bed Quota|website=National Immigrant Justice Center|access-date=July 5, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/11/19/245968601/little-known-immigration-mandate-keeps-detention-beds-full|title=Little-Known Immigration Mandate Keeps Detention Beds Full|work=NPR.org|access-date=June 11, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Under the Trump administration, the number of people being detained on any given day increased to 52,500 in early June 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/24-immigrants-have-died-ice-custody-during-trump-administration-n1015291|title=24 immigrants have died in ICE custody during the Trump administration|website=NBC News|date=June 9, 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-11-21}}</ref>

From 2012 to early 2018, ICE wrongfully arrested and detained 1,488 U.S. citizens, including many who spent months or years in immigration detention.<ref name="LATimes2018">{{cite news|first1=Paige|last1=St. John|first2=Joel|last2=Rubin|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-citizens-ice-20180427-htmlstory.html|title=ICE held an American man in custody for 1,273 days. He's not the only one who had to prove his citizenship|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 27, 2018}}</ref> A 2018 ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' investigation found that ICE's reliance on incomplete and error-prone databases and lax investigations led to the erroneous detentions.<ref name="LATimes2018"/> From 2008 to 2018, ICE was sued for wrongful arrest by more than two dozen U.S. citizens, who had been detained for periods ranging from one day to over three years. Some of the wrongfully detained U.S. citizens had been arrested by ICE more than once.<ref name="LATimes2018"/> The inaccurate government data that ICE used had shown that both immigrants and U.S. citizens were both targets of being detained. In 2019, a U.S. citizen that was detained stated that he lost 26 pounds from the horrendous conditions that the detention center offered.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-citizen-detained-by-ice-francisco-erwin-galicia-border-officials-conditions-bad-almost-self-deported/|title=18-year-old U.S. citizen detained by border officials said conditions were so bad he lost 26 pounds within the 23 days that he was detained, and almost self-deported|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=July 26, 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-31}}</ref>

Sanctuary cities were one of the many focal points for the Trump administration's attempts to reform the country's immigration policies. In early 2017, President Trump issued an [[Executive Order 13768|executive order]] to deny sanctuary cities federal grants if they did not comply with ICE.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-enhancing-public-safety-interior-united-states/|title=Executive Order: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States|language=en-US|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|work=[[whitehouse.gov]]|access-date=2019-10-23}}</ref> By November 2017, this order was struck down by the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of California]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jurist.org/news/2017/11/federal-judge-strikes-down-executive-order-to-withhold-funding-from-sanctuary-cities/|title=Federal judge strikes down Trump's executive order withholding funding from sanctuary cities|last=Offutt|first=Lindsay|website=www.jurist.org|date=November 21, 2017 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-31}}</ref> Despite this, the Trump administration continued to seek ways to challenge sanctuary cities, such as implementing a policy that preferentially awards policing grants that cooperate with ICE.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/12/us/sanctuary-cities-ruling.html|title=Trump Administration Gets Court Victory in Sanctuary Cities Case|agency=Associated Press|date=2019-07-12|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-10-31|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>