February 26, 2008

Community Outreach

ICE partners with community and faith-based organizations, immigrant advocacy groups, immigration enforcement advocates, businesses, educators and government agencies to inform communities about immigration and customs laws, policies and procedures. By engaging in education, outreach and collaborative problem solving with external partners, ICE identifies and resolves issues that impact communities.

The National Community Outreach Program within the ICE Office of Policy seeks to build constructive relationships with community stakeholders through targeted community outreach across the country.

The Acting ICE Community Outreach Coordinator is Andrew R. Strait. Community questions, issues, and concerns should be forwarded to him at Andrew.Strait@dhs.gov or (202) 616-2089.

Ongoing Activities:

• ICE leadership and headquarters staff meet regularly with non-governmental and community-based organizations at the national level. These meetings are an effective communication and policy development tool for both ICE and the organizations involved.
• ICE schedules periodic meetings as requested by non-governmental and community based organizations to discuss specific programs of interest or to educate the community on implementation of ICE enforcement programs. Community meetings have taken place regarding the following ICE programs: Intensive Supervision and Assistance Program (ISAP), Worksite Enforcement, and the collaborative development of ICE’s national detention and residential standards.
• ICE has developed local outreach programs in key cities such as Boston, Dallas, Washington D.C., Detroit, Buffalo, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and Philadelphia and continues to expand its outreach activities in additional areas.
• ICE participates in regularly scheduled interagency meetings hosted by the Department of Justice that focus on Arab, Muslim, and South Asian-American community issues.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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