Leadership

Principal Legal Advisor, Michael Neifach

Michael Neifach became principal legal advisor to the assistant secretary of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in July 2007. As principal legal advisor, Mr. Neifach oversees approximately 800 attorneys across the country who are responsible for representing the DHS in removal proceedings before immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals, and advising ICE’s numerous enforcement components on everything from labor law to Fourth Amendment search and seizure issues.

Mr. Neifach has served as director of immigration and visa security policy at the Homeland Security Council (HSC) since October 2005, where he has played a central role in formulating and coordinating the president's national priorities for immigration and visa policy. He has been the primary policy lead on a number of the president's initiatives related to immigration and visa security.

Mr. Neifach possesses a wealth of experience in immigration law and policy and has demonstrated tremendous achievements as a leader. Prior to his tenure at the HSC, Mr. Neifach was director of immigration policy at DHS. Mr. Neifach also served as an associate general counsel in the INS legal proceedings program between July 1995 and February 2003, where he served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on Denaturalization Issues and ran the INS Office of General Counsel’s National Denaturalization Program. He also served as special counsel and chief of staff during the transition of INS’s Office of General Counsel to ICE/CIS’ Office of the Principal Legal Advisor.