Law Enforcement Support Center

The Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) serves as a national enforcement operations center by providing timely immigration status and identity information to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies on aliens suspected, arrested or convicted of criminal activity. The LESC operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week assisting law enforcement agencies with information gathered from 8 DHS databases, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the Interstate Identification Index (III) and other state criminal history indices.

In addition to providing real time assistance to law enforcement agencies that are investigating, or have arrested, foreign-born individuals involved in criminal activity, the LESC also performs the following investigative functions:

National Crime Information Center (NCIC) – The LESC administers and controls immigration related cases in this nationwide law enforcement consortium and criminal database for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Investigative Services Branch – The LESC provides support to a host of on-going multi-agency investigative initiatives. Working in concert with ICE field units, task forces and other local, state and Federal investigators the Center gathers, analyzes and responds to thousands of off-line query requests.

Special Response - The LESC is the central point of contact for the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) program. Every foreign-born firearm applicant is screened by the LESC for immigration status before being authorized to purchase or possess a weapon. The LESC also handles queries and field responses relating to national security employment issues (Bio-Terrorism, CDL with Haz-Mat endorsement, Nuclear Industry, etc.)

The LESC Communications Center serves the law enforcement community with NCIC hit confirmation information as well as ICE Special Agents and Deportation Officers nationwide with after-hours telephonic enforcement support via our digitally recorded duty lines confirmed by Personal Identification Numbers.

In what is perhaps an ICE record, an ICE criminal fugitive was identified by ICE agents at the LESC on July 8, 2004, just two hours and eighteen minutes after the warrant was entered into NCIC by an LESC technician, and just hours after an arrest warrant had been issued.

LESC Quick Facts

DHS-2ICE "Hot-Line" calls
FY2005 - 98,857
FY2004 – 27,671

Law Enforcement Agency Queries
FY2005 – 676,502
FY2004 – 667,453

Immigration Violators File
As of September 30, 2005 – 155,021

Detainers Lodged by the LESC
FY2005 – 12,331
FY2004 – 15,555

NCIC Hit Confirmations
FY2005 – 6,292
FY2004 – 6,122

To contact the Department of Homeland Security tip-line, call 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.

Fact Sheet for Law Enforcement Personnel

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