From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement |
| Abbreviation |
ICE |
|
|
| ICE is a
component of the United States Department of Homeland Security |
|
|
| Badge of
the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. |
| Motto |
"Protecting National Security and Upholding Public Safety" |
| Agency overview |
| Formed |
March 1, 2003 |
| Preceding agencies |
|
| Annual budget |
$5 billion (2008)[1] |
| Legal personality |
Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure |
| Federal agency |
United
States |
| Constituting instrument |
Homeland Security Act of 2002 |
| General nature |
|
| Operational structure |
| Headquarters |
Washington, D.C. |
| Agency executive |
John T. Morton, Assistant Secretary[2] |
| Parent agency |
U.S. Department of Homeland Security |
|
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) is a federal law enforcement
agency under the United States
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for
identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities
regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and
infrastructure security. Headquartered in Washington,
D.C., ICE is charged with the investigation and enforcement of
over 400 federal statutes within the United States, and maintains
attachés at major U.S. embassies overseas. Consequently, ICE
special agents possess the broadest investigative authority within
the United States government.[3][4][5][6][7]
ICE is led by an Assistant Secretary, who is appointed at the
sub-Cabinet level by the President of the United
States, confirmed by the Senate, and reports directly to
the Secretary of
Homeland Security.[2]
The mission of ICE is to protect the United States and uphold
public safety by enforcing immigration and customs laws.
History
ICE Special Agents seizing
narcotics during an arrest
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was formed pursuant to
the Homeland Security Act of 2002
following the events of September 11,
2001. With the establishment of the 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 largest contributor to the nation's Joint Terrorism Task Force
(after the Federal Bureau of
Investigation).[8]
The agencies that were either moved entirely or merged in part
into ICE included the investigative and intelligence resources of
the United States Customs
Service, the criminal investigation resources of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and
the United States Federal Protective Service.
The Federal Protective Service was transferred from ICE to the National
Protection and Programs Directorate effective October 28, 2009.
At one point, the Federal
Air Marshals Service was moved from the Transportation
Security Administration to ICE, but they were eventually moved
back to the TSA.
Organization
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is responsible for
identifying and eliminating border, economic, transportation, and
infrastructure security vulnerabilities. ICE has an estimated
15,000 employees in 400 domestic and 50 international offices,[9] though
another official figure counts 17,200 employees.[10] The
organization is composed of four law enforcement divisions and
several support divisions each headed by a director who reports to
a Deputy Assistant Secretary.[11] The
divisions of ICE provide investigation, interdiction and security
services to the public and other law enforcement partners in the
federal and local sectors
ICE headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
Office
of Investigations
OI uses its broad legal authority to investigate and combat a
range of issues that threaten the national security of the United States such
as strategic crimes, human rights
violations, human smuggling, art theft, human trafficking, drug trafficking, arms
trafficking and other types of smuggling (including weapons of
mass destruction), immigration crimes, gang investigations,
financial crimes, terrorism, computer crimes, and import/export
enforcement issues. ICE special agents also conduct
investigations aimed at protecting critical infrastructure
industries that are vulnerable to sabotage, attack or exploitation.[12]
Office of
Intelligence
The Office of Intelligence uses its Intelligence Research
Specialists for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of
strategic and tactical intelligence data
for use by the operational elements of ICE and DHS. Consequently,
the Office of Intelligence works closely with the Central Intelligence
Agency, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and U.S. Customs and Border
Protection.
Office of Detention and
Removal
ICE officers deporting a man wanted for two murders in
Mexico
DRO is responsible for enforcing the nation's immigration laws
and ensuring the departure of all removable aliens from the United
States. DRO uses its Immigration Enforcement Agents (IEA) to
interdict, apprehend, and remove criminal aliens found in the
nation's jails and prisons. As such, IEAs are the uniformed
presence of immigration enforcement within the interior of the
United States. IEAs also are responsible for the transportation and
detention of aliens in ICE custody. DRO uses its Deportation
Officers to prosecute aliens for illegal re-entry after deportation, monitor
cases during deportation proceedings, supervise released aliens who
are subject to deportation, and to remove aliens from the United
States.[13]
Deportation Officers and IEAs also operate strategically placed
Fugitive Operations Teams whose function is to locate, apprehend,
and remove aliens who absconded from immigration proceedings and
remain in the United States with an outstanding Warrant of
Deportation. DRO custody management consists of a partnership with
the United States Marshals
Service in operating JPATS,
the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System, otherwise
known as Con-Air to remove criminal aliens from the United
States.[14]
Office of the Principal
Legal Advisor
OPLA provides legal advice, training and services to support the
ICE mission and defends the interests of the United States in the
administrative and federal courts.
Office of Professional
Responsibility
OPR is responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct
involving employees of ICE and U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP). OPR preserves the organizational integrity of
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by impartially,
independently and thoroughly investigating allegations of criminal
or serious administrative misconduct by ICE and CBP employees
worldwide. Additionally, OPR inspects and reviews ICE offices,
operations and processes so as to provide executive management with
independent reviews of the agency's organizational health. In this
role, OPR assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of ICE in
carrying out its mission.
Training
Newly hired ICE special agents, officers, deportation officers,
and immigration enforcement agents undergo initial entry training
at the ICE Academy on the Federal Law
Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. To meet
division specific academic and practical instruction, the ICE
Academy varies in length from 12 to 24 weeks depending on the
position. Furthermore, following graduation, new ICE special agents
and officers undergo additional post academy training, as well as
career-continuous training, and are assigned to an ICE office
anywhere in the nation as well as around the world. Professional
support staff are also assigned to one of the many ICE offices.
Investigative Programs
National
Security
The National Security Division monitors the conduct of field
enforcement operations in the investigation, detection,
interdiction, prosecution, and removal of alien terrorists,
terrorist supporters, and hostile foreign intelligence agents
located within the United States. This branch also has
operational oversight of all ICE special agents assigned to the 66 Federal Bureau of
Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force
(JTTF), provides continuous support to all counter-terrorism
investigations and ICE field offices supporting those
counter-terrorism efforts and provides actionable proactive counter-terrorism lead information,
in furtherance of preventing and disrupting alien terrorist cells
domestically and abroad.[15]
In February 2005, ICE began Operation Community Shield, a
national law enforcement initiative that targets violent
transnational street gangs through the use of ICE's broad law
enforcement powers, including the unique and powerful authority to
remove (deport) criminal aliens, including illegal aliens and legal
permanent resident aliens.[16] Under
Operation Community Shield:
- Partners with federal, state and local law enforcement
agencies, in the United States and abroad, to develop a
comprehensive and integrated approach in conducting criminal
investigations and other law enforcement operations against violent
street gangs and others who pose a threat to public safety.
- Identifies violent street gangs and develops intelligence on
their membership, associates, criminal activities and international
movements.
- Deters, disrupts and dismantles gang operations by tracing and
seizing cash, weapons and other assets derived from criminal
activities.
- Seeks prosecution and/or removal of alien gang members from the
United States .
- Works closely with our attaché offices throughout Latin America
and foreign law enforcement counterparts in gathering intelligence,
sharing information and conducting coordinated enforcement
operations.
- Conducts outreach efforts to increase public awareness about
the fight against violent street gangs.
Operation
Predator
ICE developed Operation Predator in 2003, an initiative to
identify, investigate and arrest child predators and sexual
offenders. Operation Predator draws on ICE's unique investigative
and enforcement authorities to safeguard children. Coordinated
nationally and internationally, Operation Predator brings together
an array of ICE disciplines and resources to target these child sex
abusers. As part of the effort:
Cyber
Crimes
The Cyber Crimes Center (C3) Child Exploitation Section (CES)
investigates the trans-border dimension of large-scale producers
and distributors of images of child abuse, as well as individuals
who travel in foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in sex
with minors. The CES employs the latest technology to collect
evidence and track the activities of individuals and organized
groups who sexually exploit children through the use of websites,
chat rooms, newsgroups, and peer-to-peer trading. These
investigative activities are organized under Operation Predator, a
program managed by the CES. The CES also conducts clandestine
operations throughout the world to identify and apprehend
violators. The CES assists the field offices and routinely
coordinates major investigations. The CES works closely with law
enforcement agencies from around the world because the exploitation
of children is a matter of global importance.[17]
C3 brings the full range of ICE computer and forensic assets
together in a single location to combat such Internet-related
crimes as:
- Possession, manufacture and distribution of images of child
abuse.
- International money laundering and illegal cyber-banking.
- Illegal arms trafficking and illegal export of
strategic/controlled commodities.
- Drug trafficking (including prohibited pharmaceuticals).
- General Smuggling (including the trafficking in stolen art and
antiquities; violations of the Endangered Species Act etc.)
- Intellectual property rights violations (including music and
software).
- Immigration violations; identity and benefit fraud
C3 consists of four sections, three of which provide cyber
technical and investigative services, the Cyber Crimes Section
(CCS), the Child Exploitation Section (CES), and the Digital
Forensic Section (DFS). The fourth section, the Information
Technology and Administrative Section (ITAS), provides the
technical and *operational infrastructure services necessary to
support the other three C3 sections. The center is a co-location of
special agents, intelligence research specialists, administrative
support, and contractors, all of which are instrumental in
operational and technical continuity. Within each section, there
are various program managers assigned to certain programmatic
areas. These program managers are responsible for supporting ICE
Internet investigations through the generation and the
dissemination of viable leads. Program managers are available to
provide guidance and training to field agents as well as to other
law enforcement (foreign and domestic) upon request.[17]
Child
Exploitation
The C3 CES investigates large-scale producers and distributors
of images of child abuse as well as individuals who travel in
foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in sex with minors.
The CES employs the latest technology to collect evidence and track
the activities of individuals and organized groups who sexually
exploit children through the use of websites, chat rooms,
newsgroups and peer-to-peer trading. The CES also conducts
clandestine operations throughout the world to identify and
apprehend violators. The CES assists the field offices and
routinely coordinates major investigations. The CES works closely
with law enforcement agencies from
around the world because the exploitation of children is a matter
of global importance.
- Operation Falcon — A joint international images of child abuse
investigation initiated by ICE that identified 39 websites
distributing child pornography. Further investigation led to the
arrest of 1,200 international downloader’s and more than 300 U.S.
customers. Nine individuals from the United States and Belarus were identified and charged as the
principals in this investigation. All principals were convicted on
various charges related to money laundering, structuring and the
production and distribution of images of child abuse.
- Operation Mango — An extensive investigation that closed down
an American-owned beachside resort in Acapulco, Mexico, which offered children to sexual
predators. The resort was a haven for pedophiles that traveled to
the facility for the sole purpose of engaging in sex with minors.
The proprietor of the business was convicted. As a result of this
investigation and others, the government of Mexico recently created a Federal task force to
address crimes against children in its country.
- Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force — Department of
Justice (DOJ) Office of Juvenile Justice Programs, ICAC Task
Force comprises 45 task forces. The task forces were created in
cooperation with the DOJ ICAC to provide reporting, a means to
provide a virtual pointer system for Child Exploitation and images
of child abuse cases and secure collaboration for various Federal,
State, and Local law enforcement organizations, task forces, and
affiliated groups around the world. DHS/ICE strongly supports the
efforts of the ICAC task forces as demonstrated by ICE special agents being active members of the
ICACs throughout the United States. The Northern
Virginia/Metro DC ICAC is housed at the DHS/ICE C3.[17]
Cyber
Crimes Section
The Cyber Crimes Section (CCS) is responsible for developing and
coordinating investigations of Immigration and Customs violations
where the Internet is used
to facilitate the criminal act. The CCS investigative
responsibilities include fraud, theft of intellectual property
rights, money laundering, identity and benefit fraud, the sale and
distribution of narcotics and other controlled substances, illegal
arms trafficking and the illegal export of strategic/controlled
commodities and the smuggling and sale of other prohibited items
such as art and cultural property. The CCS is involved in the
development of Internet
undercover law enforcement investigative methodology, and new laws
and regulations to strengthen U.S. Cyber-Border Security. C3
supports the ICE Office of Investigation’s (OI) domestic field
offices, along with ICE foreign attachés offices with cyber
technical, and covert online investigative support.[17]
- Operations Apothecary – The CCS, the ICE Commercial Fraud
Office and the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
Coordination Center have partnered together and launched a
comprehensive Internet pharmaceutical initiative designed to
target, arrest and prosecute individuals and organizations that are
involved in the smuggling of counterfeit pharmaceuticals of a
controlled and non-controlled nature as well as scheduled narcotics via the Internet. The focus is also on the affiliates
of the rogue pharmacies that are typically operated by criminal
enterprises whose sole purpose is to generate large sums of money,
with no regard to the health and welfare of the public.
- Intellectual Property Rights - The CCS has encountered
thousands of web sites based in the United States, as well as
foreign that are engaged in the sale of counterfeit merchandise
(including music and software) via the Internet. The CCS continues to work closely
with the National IPR Coordination Center, the Computer Crimes and
Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) at the DOJ, and industry
representatives to identify web sites responsible for the sale of
the counterfeit items.
- Arms and Strategic Technology - The CCS supports ICE’s mission
to prevent proliferate countries, terrorists,
trans-national criminals from obtaining strategic materials, funds
and support and to protect the American public from the
introduction weapons of mass destruction and other instruments of
terror from entering the United States.
- Identify Fraud Initiative - The availability and use of
fraudulent identification documents has always been a concern to
the law enforcement community. While traditionally available from
street sources, fraudulent identification and travel documents, of
all types, are also readily available for sale via the Internet. In the post 9-11
world, fraudulent identity and travel documents are of an even
greater concern to ICE because of the alarming threat they pose to
ICE's primary mission of protecting the United States, and its citizens, from
threats arising from the movement of people and goods into and out
of the country. With addressing these documents and their threat in
mind, the CCS has sought to identify sources for fraudulent
identity and immigration documents on the Internet.
Notable ICE Criminal
Cases
National
Security
- October 14, 2006, ICE removed Sayed Malike to Afghanistan. Malike
came to the attention of ICE via the FBI because he attempted to purchase C4 explosives, night vision goggles, bullet proof vests, and drugs from an undercover FBI agent. He was charged in
the Eastern
District of New York with the crime of lying to a federal law
enforcement officer. Malike pled guilty to this offense on November
2, 2005. ICE placed him in removal proceedings based on this
conviction. On June 1, 2006, an immigration judge ordered the
removal of Malike from the United States.
- October 16, 2006, ICE successfully removed Jasvir Singh to
India. An immigration judge ordered Singh’s removal on May 15, 2006
after ICE presented evidence that Singh attempted to purchase large
quantities of weapons, including surface to air missiles, from
undercover FBI
agents. Singh told the agents that he was a member of Babbar
Khalsa, a terrorist group in India, and that the weapons were to be used
against the government of India.
- January 23, 2007, ICE removed Majid Al Massari to Saudi Arabia.
Al Massari entered the United States on a student visa in 1993. On
July 22, 2004, ICE arrested Al Massari after he had been convicted
of a drug related offense. ICE charged Al Massari with being a visa
overstay and placed him in removal proceedings. The ICE
investigation revealed that he had been soliciting funds for a
group called the Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights
(CDLR). He also helped to run the group’s website. The CDLR is a front group for Al Qaeda. The CDLR is also
publicly dedicated to the overthrow of the Saudi Arabian government and the
installation of an Islamist government in its place. On June 27,
2005, an immigration judge ordered the removal of Al Massari from
the United States.
- March 6, 2007, ICE removed Muhammed Abdi Afrid to Pakistan. Afrid was paroled
into the United States on March 5, 2003 to face federal criminal
charges in California. The United States Attorney’s Office for the
Southern District of California charged Afrid with conspiracy to
distribute hashish and heroin and conspiracy to provide material
support to a terrorist group based on an incident in China on
September 16, 2002 wherein Afrid attempted to purchase stinger
missiles from an undercover U.S. agent in exchange for five tons of
hashish and 600 kilograms of heroin. Afrid planned to sell the missiles to
the Taliban. On April 3, 2006, Afrid received a five year sentence
to federal prison for these offenses. ICE placed Afrid in removal
proceedings and charged him with being removable on account of his
criminal conviction. An immigration judge ordered his removal on
December 14, 2006.
- On September 12, 2008, ICE successfully removed Sarafat Mohamed
to Egypt. Mohamed was an Imam for the Hoda Islamic Center in
Gainesville, Florida. Mohamed entered the United States on October
26, 1999 on a non - immigrant religious worker visa. He later
obtained a special immigrant religious worker visa. He applied to
become a lawful permanent resident in 2001. The FBI interviewed Mohamed in
2005. Mohamed confessed to the FBI that he was a founding member of Takfir
Wal Higra (TWH). TWH was an Egyptian based terrorist organization
responsible for the 1977 kidnapping and murder of the Egyptian
Minister of Islamic Endowment, Mohamed Hussain Al Zahabi. TWH was
notable because, unlike many other radical Islamic groups, it did
not refrain from murdering other Muslims. Though Mohamed denied any
role in the murder, he admitted to being a recruiter for TWH. He
also admitted that he served as the religious leader for TWH. After
the murder, Egyptian authorities arrested many members of TWH,
including Mohamed. He was convicted for his membership in the
organization and served a 20 year prison sentence. Mohamed failed
to include his arrest and conviction in his application to become a
lawful permanent resident of the United States. United
States Citizenship and Immigration Services denied Mohamed’s
residency application and placed him in removal proceedings,
charging him with lying in order to gain an immigration benefit.
ICE vigorously sought a removal order in immigration court. Over
the strong objections of ICE, an immigration judge in Miami granted Mohamed’s request to
become a lawful permanent resident. ICE successfully appealed this
decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals. The Board agreed with
ICE and reversed the ruling of the immigration judge. The Board
ordered the removal of Mohamed on July 30, 2008.
Counter-Proliferation
Investigations
- Telecommunications Equipment to Iraq – On October 2, 2008, Dawn
Hanna was convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of Michigan
on eight counts of an indictment charging her with illegally
exporting telecommunications and other equipment with potential
military applications to Iraq during the administration of Saddam
Hussein and during the embargo on that country. On July 19, 2007,
Hanna was indicted on charges of conspiracy, violating the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act, money laundering
conspiracy, and false statements. From 2002 to 2003, Hanna
allegedly received $9.5 million in proceeds to supply
telecommunications and other equipment to Iraq in violation of the
U.S. embargo that existed prior to the invasion by coalition forces
in 2003.
- Military Accelerometers to China – On September 26, 2008, Qing
Li was sentenced in the Southern District of California to 12
months and one day in custody, followed by three years of
supervised released, and ordered to pay a fine for conspiracy to
smuggle military-grade accelerometers from the United States to the
People’s Republic of China (PRC). Li pleaded guilty on June 9,
2008, to violating Title 18 USC Section 554. She was indicted for
the offense on October 18, 2007. Li conspired with an individual in
China to locate and procure as many as 30 Endevco 7270A-200K
accelerometers for what her co-conspirator described as a “special”
scientific agency in China. This accelerometer has military
applications in “smart” bombs and missile development and in
calibrating the g-forces of nuclear and chemical explosions.
- Rifle Scopes to Russia – On September 11, 2008, a Grand Jury in
the Middle District of Pennsylvania indicted Boris Gavrilov,
D&B Compas Ltd, and Kiflet Arm on charges of illegally
exporting military-grade and dual-use rifle scopes to Russia
without the required U.S. government licenses. Gavrilov is believed
to be a resident of Israel. D&B Compas is located in Israel,
while Kiflet Arm is located in Humboldt, Texas. Extradition
proceedings for Gavrilov have commenced.
- Fighter Jet Components to Iran – On September 5, 2008, George
Frank Myles, Jr. pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally export
military aviation parts without obtaining the permission of the
U.S. Department of State, in violation of the Arms Export Control
Act. Myles was indicted for this offense on September 6, 2007, in
the Southern District of New York, and the case was transferred to
the Southern District of Florida pursuant to Rule 21. Sentencing is
set for October 30, 2008. During the conspiracy, which spanned from
April 2005 to March 2007, Myles supplied a number of military
aviation parts, including F-14 parts, to an Iranian national, who
allegedly picked up the parts in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and
Bangkok, Thailand.
- Surface-to-Air Missiles, Night Vision Devices, Firearms to
Foreign Terrorists – On July 10, 2008, Erik Wotulo, a retired
Indonesian Marine Corps general, was sentenced in the District of
Maryland to 30 months in prison for conspiracy to provide material
support to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a designated
terrorist organization, and money laundering. Beginning in April
2006, Wotulo conspired with Haji Subandi, Haniffa Bin Osman and
Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa to export state-of-the-art firearms,
machine guns and ammunition, surface to air missiles, night vision
goggles and other military weapons to the Tamil Tigers operating in
Sri Lanka, to be used to fight against Sri Lankan government
forces. The conspirators contacted an undercover business located
in Maryland about the sale of military weapons. In September 2006,
the defendants arrived in Guam, where they met with undercover
officers to inspect and take possession of the weapons, and were
eventually arrested. On January 3, 2008, Varatharasa was sentenced
to 57 months in prison. Subandi was sentenced to 37 months in
prison on December 14, 2007, while Osman is scheduled to be
sentenced in August 2008. Two additional defendants, Rinehard Rusli
and Helmi Soedirdja, pleaded guilty to export and money laundering
violations on January 30, 2007, as part of a related plot to
provide military night vision devices to the Indonesian
military.
Anti-Human Trafficking
- Sex Trafficking/San Antonio—On June 1, 2007, a San Antonio
woman and her two daughters were ordered detained without bond for
engaging in sex trafficking of children. The woman, age 59, and her
daughters, ages 32 and 29, were arrested and charged with sex
trafficking of children by force, fraud or coercion. Based on the
ongoing investigation and the victims’ statements, it is alleged
that the defendants traveled to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, to recruit
young girls to work as prostitutes in the San Antonio area. The
victims in this case were 15, 17 and 22 years old. After arriving
in the United States, the victims were told they would have to work
as prostitutes for five years to repay the money the defendants had
spent. Allegedly the money was spent on smuggling and other
expenses they incurred to prepare the young women to be
prostitutes. The victims told ICE agents that they were scared to
leave because a male associate of the Ochoa’s had threatened them
with a gun; he also stated that he could find them and their
families back in Mexico, and he would have them killed. The female
violators in this case received sentences of time served to 18
months in prison for their convictions for harboring and
transporting aliens for financial gain. One of the male defendants
was sentenced to 120 months in prison for conspiracy to transport
aliens for financial gain and for aiding and abetting sex
trafficking of a child. One remaining defendant is scheduled for
jury trial in February 2009.
- Involuntary Servitude/Michigan—On May 31, 2007, a couple from
Cameroon was sentenced for involuntary servitude and related
charges. Joseph Djoumessi, 49, was found guilty of conspiracy,
involuntary servitude and harboring for financial gain. He was
sentenced to 17 years in prison, to run concurrent with a
9-to-15-year sentence he is currently serving for a Michigan state
conviction related to the same crime. A jury also convicted
Djoumessi's wife, Evelyn Djoumessi, 42, of conspiracy and
involuntary servitude. She was sentenced to five years in prison.
The couple was also ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution to the
victim. ICE agents in Detroit began an investigation in 2000 after
receiving information regarding a young girl who was possibly being
held against her will. A 17-year-old girl from Cameroon was
discovered in the Djoumessi home, living under a false identity and
in questionable circumstances. The girl had been brought into the
United States illegally when she was 14 years old. During the time
the girl lived at the couple's home, she was forced "by beating and
threats," according to court documents, to care for their children
and perform household chores without pay. They also limited her
contact with the outside world and did not permit her to attend
school.
- Labor Trafficking/Long Island, N.Y.—On May 13, 2007, Nassau
County Police Department (NCPD) officers encountered a female
subject disoriented and wandering around a residential
neighborhood. The NCPD identified her as a possible trafficking
victim and contacted ICE agents assigned to the Human Trafficking
Task Force who interviewed the victim at the Nassau University
Medical Center (NUMC). The victim indicated that she had escaped
from a residence in Muttontown, N.Y., where she was forced to stay
and work under horrific conditions. Doctors diagnosed the victim
with extensive bruising, burns and lacerations, allegedly inflicted
by her employer, Varsha Sabhnani. On the evening of May 13, 2007,
ICE agents executed a federal search warrant at the residence in
Muttontown and found another female domestic worker hiding in the
basement. The second victim denied physical abuse, but witnessed
the physical abuse inflicted upon the other victim. Both victims
claimed that Sabhnani and her husband verbally abused them and
restricted their movements at all times. On May 14, 2007, ICE
agents arrested Mahender and Varsha Sabhnani who were subsequently
indicted. On December 18, 2007, they were found guilty by jury of
forced labor, peonage, document servitude, harboring aliens and
conspiracy. In June 2008, Varsha Sabhnani was sentenced to 11 years
imprisonment and her husband was sentenced to 3 years. The jury
ordered that their residence, valued at $1.5 million, be criminally
forfeited. Proceeds from the sale of the residence will be used to
pay restitution to the victims.
- Sex Trafficking/New York—The Flores-Carreto family
sex-trafficking ring operated between Tenancingo, Tlaxcala, Mexico,
and Queens, New York, from 1991 to 2004 and involved brothels in
the New York metropolitan area. ICE began its investigation in
December 2003 after the mother of a trafficking victim reported to
the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City that her daughter had been
kidnapped and was being held against her will in New York. ICE
discovered that male members of the Flores-Carreto family
romantically lured young Mexican women to the United States, where
they were forced into prostitution through beatings and threats
against their children, who were residing with the traffickers'
mother in México. Victims who became pregnant were forced to have
abortions. In April 2005, Josue Flores-Carreto, Gerardo
Flores-Carreto and Daniel Perez Alfonso, a brothel manager, were
sentenced to 50, 50, and 25 years imprisonment respectively, for
multiple offenses related to forced prostitution. In January 2007,
Mexico extradited Consuelo Caretto Valencia, the mother of the
Carreto brothers, to the United States, where she was charged with
conspiring on sex trafficking and related offenses. On July 22,
2008, she pled guilty to sex trafficking and is pending sentencing
for that crime. The prosecution has been one of the largest sex
trafficking cases brought under the provisions of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000. The sentences in this case are some
of the longest to date.
ICE and
immigration law
Immigration
and Nationality Act Section 287(g) is designed to effectively
multiply ICE forces through enhanced cooperation and communication
with state, and local law enforcement agencies. Section 287(g)
authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to enter
into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies,
permitting designated officers to perform immigration law
enforcement functions, pursuant to a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA),
provided that the local law enforcement officers receive
appropriate training and function under the supervision of sworn
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Under 287(g),
ICE provides state and local law enforcement with the training and
subsequent authorization to identify, process, and when
appropriate, detain immigration offenders they encounter during
their regular, daily law-enforcement activity.[18]
"The days of ignoring immigration law are over," Marc Raimondi,
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman, said. "A
failure to comply is not an option. The person ordered to be
removed needs to comply with that order or we'll assist them with
compliance. To think of people illegally in the country who have
been convicted of crimes are walking around is outrageous."[19]
ICE has played a key role in investigating and arresting
citizens suspected of possessing and distributing child
pornography.[20]
Because a vast majority of child pornography is produced in foreign
countries, ICE special agents utilize their authority to
investigate persons and groups that traffic in this type of
contraband, the importation of which via traditional mail or
internet channels constitute violations of customs laws.
Detention
centers
ICE operates detention centers throughout the United States that
detain illegal aliens who are apprehended and
placed into removal proceedings. About 31,000 aliens are held in
immigration detention on any given day,[21] in
over 200 detention centers, jails, and prisons nationwide.
In 2006, the T. Don Hutto Residential
Center opened specifically to house non-criminal families.
Other significant facilities are located in Austin, Texas (at
the Travis County Courthouse); Elizabeth, New Jersey; Oakdale,
Louisiana; Florence, Arizona; Miami, Florida; Seattle; York, Pennsylvania; Batavia, New York; Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and all
along the Texas–Mexico border.
A December 2009 article by The Nation alleges that the ICE maintains
186 unlisted and unmarked subfield offices, which are not subject
to ICE Detention Standards, and amount to secret detention. The
article quotes James Pendergraph, formerly the executive director
of ICE's Office of State and Local Coordination, as stating "If you
don't have enough evidence to charge someone criminally but you
think he's illegal, we can make him disappear."[22]
Deaths in
detention
ICE has counted 107 deaths in detention since October 2003. The
New York Times and the American Civil Liberties
Union recently obtained documents detailing the circumstances
of these deaths, under the Freedom of
Information Act. "The documents show how officials — some still
in key positions — used their role as overseers to cover up
evidence of mistreatment, deflect scrutiny by the news media or
prepare exculpatory public statements after gathering facts that
pointed to substandard care or abuse," the New York Times
reported.[23]
The deaths in detention included the following cases:
- Boubacar Bah, a 52-year old tailor from Guinea, was left in an
isolation cell for more than 13 hours after falling and suffering a
head fracture before an ambulance was called. His family was not
notified for five days of his injury. [24]
A video shows Bah in the medical unit, before medical personnel
sent him to the isolation cell. In the tape, his hands are
handcuffed behind his back, he is face down, and he calls out
repeatedly in his native language, Fulani: “Help, they are killing
me!” Telephone and email records show that ten agency managers
based in Newark and Washington discussed how to avoid the cost of
his care and unwanted media attention. They considered sending Bah
back to Guinea and reviewing his canceled work permit to see if it
would be possible to get Medicaid or disability benefits.
Eventually, they decided to release him to cousins in New York who
objected that they had no way to care for Bah; however, days before
this release was planned, Bah died.[23]
- Nevy Romero was a 22 year old Salvadoran immigrant with no
previous history of mental illness who committed suicide in his
cell in the Bergen County Jail in New Jersey. At the time of his detention, he
was recovering from surgery in which metal pins had been placed in
his leg, seriously broken in a motorcycle accident, and was taking
strong prescription painkillers. According to Romero's cellmates
and family, authorities failed to provide Romero with painkillers
despite his repeated requests.[23]
In a letter written to his mother shortly before his death, Romero
stated: "I'm in hell. They don't give me nothing for my pain."[25]
- Sandra Kenley of Barbados, who did not receive treatment for a
uterine fibroid tumor, died at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in
Portsmouth, Va in December 2006.[25]
- Abdoulai Sali died of an untreated kidney ailment in the
Piedmont Regional Jail in Virginia.[25]
- Young Sook Kim died at the New Mexico Regional Jail in
Albuquerque of pancreatic cancer in September 2006. She had asked
for weeks to receive medical care, and died the day after she was
taken to a hospital.[26]
Corporate
contracts
Engineering and construction firm Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) released a
press statement on January 24, 2006 that the company had been
awarded a no-bid contingency contract from the Department of
Homeland Security to support its ICE facilities in the event of an
emergency. The maximum total value of the contract is $385 million
and consists of a 1-year base period with four 1-year options. KBR
held the previous ICE contract from 2000 through 2005. The contract
provides for establishing temporary detention and processing
capabilities to expand existing ICE Detention and Removal
Operations Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx
of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of
new programs. The contract may also provide migrant detention
support to other government organizations in the event of an
immigration emergency, the company said.
Equipment
An Air and Marine Operations (AMO)
Black Hawk supporting an ICE operation
ICE officers carry the Sig Sauer P229R pistol with the DAK trigger
chambered in .40
S&W, the Heckler & Koch USP Compact
with LEM trigger in .40 S&W, or the Glock 19 pistol chambered
in 9x19 mm. Eventually, all ICE officers will transition to the Sig
Sauer P229R-DAK as their primary sidearm. They also may be assigned
the Remington Model
870 shotgun, the Steyr
AUG rifle, the Colt M16
rifle, the FN P90 or the
Colt M4 carbine.
Agents and officers assigned to a Special Response Team (SRT) are
specifically assigned the Colt M4 carbine while some operators may
also carry the Heckler & Koch MP5
submachine gun, although these are being phased out.[15]
ICE San Diego Special Response Team (SRT) operators aiding the
rescue efforts during
Hurricane Katrina
ICE operates the only nation-wide radio communication system in
the federal law enforcement community. The system, known as the
National Law Enforcement Communications Center (NLECC) is
Motorola-based and employs a technology specifically designed for
ICE known as COTHEN (Customs Over The Horizon Network).
Consequently, ICE agents, officers, and authorized subcribers are
able to communicate with one another across the nation using
NLECC's strategically placed repeaters and high-speed data lines.
Additionally, the NLECC, commonly referred to as SECTOR, is based
in Orlando, Florida..[15]
See also
References
- ^
FY2008 Budget
- ^ a
b
"Leadership: Assistant
Secretary John T. Morton". U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement. May 21, 2009. http://www.ice.gov/about/leadership/asstsec_bio/john_morton.htm. Retrieved August 9,
2009.
- ^
Preston, Julia (October 14, 2007). "No Need for a Warrant,
You’re an Immigrant". New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/weekinreview/14preston.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/D/Deportation. Retrieved February 11,
2009.
- ^
Londoño, Ernesto (June 13, 2007). "Database Is Tool in
Deporting Fugitives". Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/12/AR2007061202054_pf.html. Retrieved February 11,
2009.
- ^
US CODE: Title 19,1589a.
Enforcement authority of customs officers
- ^
US CODE: Title 8,1357. Powers
of immigration officers and employees
- ^
US CODE: Title 19,482. Search
of vehicles and persons
- ^
Federal Bureau of
Investigation - Press Room - Headline Archives
- ^
"Careers". U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement. http://www.ice.gov/careers/index.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-08. "ICE
has approximately 15,000 employees working in 400 offices
nationwide and over 50 locations internationally."
- ^
"Programs". U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. http://www.ice.gov/pi/topics/. Retrieved 2009-02-08. "With
more than 17,200 employees and an annual budget of nearly $5
billion, ICE has broad law enforcement powers and authorities, with
responsibility for enforcing more than 400 federal statutes within
the United States."
- ^
ICE Leadership
- ^
ICE Operations
- ^
ICE Office of Detention and
Removal (DRO) ICE Detention and Deportation Officer Conrad
Agagan
- ^
US Marshals - Justice Prisoner & Alien
Transportation System (JPATS)
- ^ a
b
c
Office of
Investigations-National Security
- ^
Office of
Investigations-Operation Community Shield
- ^ a
b
c
d
ICE Office of
Investigations-Investigative Services Division - Cyber
Branch
- ^
287g training from ICE sought
by many U.S. jurisdictions - novatownhall blog
- ^
Charlotte News - Local News
Charlotte | Charlotte Observer
- ^
Teacher faces charges of
pornography- MassLive.com
- ^
"In-Custody Deaths". New York Times. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration_detention_us/incustody_deaths/index.html.
- ^
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100104/stevens
- ^ a
b
c
Nina Bernstein (January 10, 2010). "Officials Hid Truth About
Immigrant Deaths in Jail". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/us/10detain.html. Retrieved January 10,
2010.
- ^ Template:Cite news
title=Few Details on Immigrants Who Died in Custody
- ^ a
b
c
. The New York Times. January 10, 2010.
http://documents.nytimes.com/deaths-in-immigration-detention#p=29. Retrieved January 10,
2010.
- ^ {{Cite news name=
Deaths of immigrants in U.S. held for deportation spark
scrutiny|author=Nina Bernstein|publisher=New York Times|date = June
26, 2007|accessdate=January 10, 2010|url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/26/world/americas/26iht-immig.4.6342462.html}}
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