Leadership

Marcy M. Forman, Director, ICE Office of Investigations

Marcy M. Forman is the Director of the Office of Investigations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and oversees the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, with more than 8,000 employees to include over 6,200 Special Agents, assigned to 26 Special Agent-in-Charge offices in major cities, and 178 other field offices throughout the United States. To accomplish the mission of the Office of Investigations, Ms. Forman administers a budget of more than $1.6 billion. As Director, Ms. Forman is responsible for strategic planning, national policy implementation, and the development and execution of operational initiatives spanning the five major investigative program divisions within the Office of Investigations: National Security Investigations; Financial, Narcotics and Public Safety Investigations; Critical Infrastructure Protection and Fraud Investigations; Investigative Services; and Policy and Emergency Preparedness.

Ms. Forman has spearheaded the development of comprehensive programs and initiatives to address national security and public safety vulnerabilities. To stem the flow of counterfeit, substandard, and tainted goods into the commerce of the United States, Ms. Forman established the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Coordination Center. This multi-agency IPR Coordination Center, through its shared law enforcement and regulatory partnerships, targets Intellectual Property crimes globally. To address vulnerabilities within the financial sector, Ms. Forman instituted the ICE Cornerstone initiative. This program is designed to form partnerships with the financial sector and law enforcement to identify the means and methods used by terrorists and other criminal organizations to exploit U.S. financial and trade systems. To counter gang violence, Ms. Forman implemented Operation Community Shield, in partnership with federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities, to arrest and remove violent transnational street gang members. Ms. Forman also established Identity and Document Benefit Fraud Task Forces to target and prosecute individuals and organizations that perpetrate identity theft and fraudulent immigration benefit schemes.

Ms. Forman has over 29 years of law enforcement experience. Prior to assuming the position of Director of Investigations, Ms. Forman held a number of key management positions. Ms. Forman was the Deputy Assistant Director of the Financial Investigations Division of the ICE Office of Investigations. Before joining ICE, she served in numerous positions with the U.S. Customs Service. During her career with U.S. Customs, she was the Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge of the Money Laundering and Narcotics Unit in the Houston, Texas field office, and Division Director for Financial Investigations at U.S. Customs Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Ms. Forman is recognized by both the private and public sector as an authority in the field of terrorist financing and money-laundering and served as the Executive Director of Operation Green Quest, a highly successful U.S. Department of Treasury led, multi-agency task force that was established immediately after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to address the threat of terrorist financing.

Ms. Forman currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; the ASIS International Council on Global Terrorism, Political Instability and International Crime; and as the Deputy Chair for the World Customs Organization’s 28th Session of the Enforcement Committee. Throughout her decorated career, Ms. Forman has received numerous awards to include the prestigious 2006 Presidential Rank Award for meritorious performance by a senior professional in federal service. She was also recognized that year with the 2006 Women In Federal Law Enforcement (WIFLE) President’s Award for her outstanding career in law enforcement. In 2007, Ms. Forman was a recipient of the Secretary of Homeland Security’s Silver Medal for her exemplary leadership and dedication in leading ICE’s enforcement efforts.

Ms. Forman holds a Master of Science degree in management from National-Louis University, a Bachelor of Science degree from American University and has completed the Senior Executive Fellowship Program at Harvard University.

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