The security of our nation's citizens and the integrity of our country's borders are fundamental to the Department's mandate to support the National Security and lie at the heart of the mission of the Domestic Security Section (DSS). DSS, through its attorneys and staff, seeks to ensure the security of the United States through prosecution and policy work in three areas of federal criminal law: 1) complex immigration and border crimes; 2) international human rights violations; and 3) certain federal crimes of violence committed outside the United States.
DSS investigates and prosecutes complex immigration offenses affecting the integrity of our nation's border and immigration controls. These offenses include alien smuggling, harboring of illegal aliens, and trafficking in fraudulent travel and identification documents. Through these prosecutions, DSS attorneys seek to frustrate the many domestic and international criminal networks that provide aliens illegal access to the United States by fraud, evasion, and corruption. DSS places particular emphasis on dismantling international networks that terrorists and other criminal aliens could exploit to enter the United States without detection.
DSS also seeks to investigate and prosecute major human rights violators. Where federal jurisdiction exists, this effort includes the direct prosecution of individuals engaged in torture, war crimes, and genocide. DSS, for example, is jointly pursuing with a United States Attorney's Office the first federal prosecution of a charge of torture under 18 U.S.C. ยง 2340. In addition, DSS is involved in a coordinated effort with other offices in the Criminal Division and in other federal Departments to ensure the United States does not become a safe haven for human rights violators who commit torture, genocide, war crimes, and other atrocities. This effort is multi-faceted and includes the prosecution of suspected human rights violators for immigration offenses, the training of prosecutors and agents on human rights law, and outreach to non-governmental human rights organizations.
Finally, DSS safeguards the security of United States citizens here and abroad by prosecuting international crimes of violence committed by and against them. DSS is the Department's central point of contact regarding Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) investigations and prosecutions. Through MEJA, DSS coordinates, investigates and prosecutes federal crimes committed overseas. DSS has developed strong relationships with law enforcement agencies within the Department of Defense and the Department of State to ensure that individuals employed by or accompanying the United States military overseas who commit murder, sexual crimes, and other serious federal felony offenses are brought to justice where jurisdiction exists.
DSS also is actively involved in a variety of inter-agency and inter-governmental initiatives that pertain to its mission. For example, DSS works closely with other Department components as well as outside agencies such as the National Security Council, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and the intelligence community to enhance the security of the United States. Similarly, DSS works with its counterparts in Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, and other countries to improve law enforcement cooperation against alien smuggling and document fraud. DSS also provides subject matter expertise, as needed, to United States Government delegations to international organizations including the Organization of American States and the United Nations.
Contact Information:
U.S. Department of Justice
Criminal Division - Domestic Security Section
950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530
To report a crime, please contact the FBI, ICE, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, or your local police department.
|