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About
Offices Within ICE
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a law enforcement organization. ICE is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for enforcing the nation’s immigration and customs laws that ensure national security and public safety. From a high level, ICE is organized by offices that report to the Assistant Secretary, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management. Some of the descriptions of offices within ICE include:
Assistant Secretary
Congressional Relations (OCR)
The Office of Congressional Relations (OCR) represents ICE’s core values and DHS objectives through federal Congressional liaison activities. The OCR maintains an effective liaison by promoting Congressional awareness of ICE operations, national and local programs, policies and initiatives. Contact OCR.
Policy
The mission of the Office of Policy is to identify, develop, and effectively communicate ICE’s organizational priorities and policies in support of the ICE mission. Drawing from expertise in such disciplines as law, international affairs, public administration, strategic management, and economics, the Office of Policy offers an array of relevant, multi-method research services including policy analysis, legislative analysis, program evaluation, strategic planning, performance measurement, community outreach, marketing research, statistical analysis and modeling, and quantitative and qualitative research methods (e.g., in-depth interviewing, observation, diverse sampling and survey techniques, peer review, and focus groups). Read more about the Office of Policy including Small Business Information, Good Guidance, and Community Outreach.
Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA)
The Office of Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) provides legal advice, training and services to support the ICE mission and defends the interests of the United States in the administrative and federal courts. OPLA protects the security of the United States by providing professional, highly motivated and client-focused staff in sufficient numbers to promptly and effectively prosecute immigration and customs law violators, particularly those who threaten the safety of our citizenry. Read Director Peter S. Vincent's bio.
Professional Responsibility (OPR)
The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct involving employees of ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). OPR preserves the organizational integrity of ICE by impartially, independently and thoroughly investigating allegations of criminal or serious administrative misconduct by ICE and CBP employees worldwide. OPR adjudicates ICE background investigations and issues security clearances for all prospective and current ICE employees and contracted staff. OPR inspects and reviews ICE offices, operations and processes so as to provide executive management with independent reviews of the agency's organizational health. In this role, OPR assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of ICE in carrying out its mission.
State/Local Coordination (OSLC)
Office of State/Local Coordination is responsible for Local Delegation of Authority for State and Local Officers Training facility, which reflects ICE's unyielding commitment to partnering with our law enforcement counterparts to ensure the safety and security of our homeland through education and cross-designation. OSLC has instituted ICE ACCESS (Agreements of Cooperation in Communities to Enhance Safety and Security), an umbrella of services offered for assistance to local law enforcement officers. ICE ACCESS provides local law enforcement agencies an opportunity to team with ICE to combat specific challenges in their communities. The 287(g) program is one component within the ICE ACCESS. Read More about 287(g) and ICE ACCESS.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office
To ensure openness and transparency and to better serve those seeking more information about ICE and its operations, the agency centralized processing of all ICE-related Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in a single office. The centralized office receives, tracks, and processes all FOIA requests except those that relate to sensitive investigative matters. Contact the FOIA office or file a FOIA Request.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations
Detention and Removal Operations (DRO)
The Office of Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) is responsible for promoting public safety and national security by making certain through the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws that all removable aliens depart the United States. DRO makes use of its resources and expertise to transport aliens, to manage them while in custody and waiting for their cases to be processed, and to remove unauthorized aliens from the United States when so ordered. Read more about Detention and Removal Operations.
Federal Protective Service (FPS)
Federal Protective Service (FPS) is responsible for policing, securing and ensuring a safe environment in which federal agencies can conduct their business. FPS does this by investigating threats posed against the more than 8,800 federal facilities nationwide. FPS’ work focuses directly on the interior security of the nation and the reduction of crimes and potential threats to federal facilities throughout the nation. Uniformed FPS officers and special agents respond to calls for assistance, conduct investigations and provide crime prevention tips, as well as assist in occupant emergency planning. Read more about the Federal Protective Service.
Intelligence
The Office of Intelligence is responsible for collecting, analyzing and sharing strategic and tactical intelligence data for use by the operational elements of ICE and DHS. Intelligence professionals process information from a variety of sources to provide assessments of patterns, trends and new developments in a wide range of law enforcement areas. Intelligence focuses on data and information related to the movement of people, money and materials into, within and out of the United States, to provide accurate and timely reporting to ICE leadership and field agents in support of enforcement operations.
International Affairs (OIA)
OIA is the largest international investigative component in DHS, interacting with the international community on behalf of ICE through investigations of immigration and customs violations, management of the Visa Security Program and the International Visitor's Program, representation with international organizations, conducting international training and guiding repatriation efforts.
Investigations (OI)
The Office of Investigations (OI) is responsible for investigating a range of issues that may threaten national security. OI uses its legal authority to investigate issues such as immigration crime, human rights violations, and human smuggling; narcotics, weapons and other types of smuggling; and financial crimes, cybercrime, and export enforcement issues. ICE special agents also conduct investigations aimed at protecting critical infrastructure industries that are vulnerable to sabotage, attack, or exploitation. Read more about the Office of Investigations.
Secure Communities
The Secure Communities initiative is a mission-centric effort to increase national security and community safety by identifying, processing, and removing all removable criminal aliens, beginning with those who pose the greatest known risk to public safety. Secure Communities is leading ICE’s efforts to modernize and transform its criminal alien enforcement model, through technology, integration, and information sharing. The Secure Communities Program improves the way ICE identifies, detains, and removes criminal aliens by moving from the traditional agent-based model, to a technology-based model. The difference between the two models lie in the three main pillars on which we are building the program – IDENTIFY criminal aliens in federal, state, and local custody and at-large; PRIORITIZE enforcement actions to ensure apprehension and removal of dangerous criminal aliens; and TRANSFORM criminal alien enforcement processes and systems to achieve lasting results. Read more about Secure Communities.