ICE consists of three directorates to accomplish the agency’s mission, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and Management and Administration (M&A).
ICE's primary mission is to promote homeland security and public safety through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.
Catch up on ICE’s most popular news stories from the week ending March 25, 2016
ICE executes its mission through the enforcement of more than 400 federal statutes, focusing on preventing terrorism, immigration enforcement and combating transnational crime.
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) takes very seriously the health, safety and welfare of those in our care, including those who come into ICE custody with prior medical conditions or who have never before received appropriate medical care. While fatalities in ICE custody occur at a small fraction of the national average for detained populations in federal or state custody, any death that happens in ICE custody is a cause for concern. Under agency protocols, when an individual passes while in ICE custody, the ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC) reviews the case to determine whether the detainee received appropriate health services in relation to nationally recognized standards of detention health care and practices. Additionally, the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility, in coordination with contract subject matter experts in correctional healthcare and security, conducts an objective examination of the facts and circumstances surrounding each individual’s passing, to determine whether or not the relevant detention standards were complied with and to identify any other areas of concern regarding the individual’s care and custody. Upon their completion, the results of these reports are provided to ICE senior management and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Upon an official report of a detainee death, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) makes official notifications to Congress, non-governmental organization (NGO) stakeholders, and the media and posts a news release with relevant details on the public website, at https://www.ice.gov/news/all, within two business days, per agency policy. ERO also schedules a meeting within three business days to brief senior leadership about the event and ensure that all required investigation and coordination is undertaken in a timely manner.
Staffing for detainees includes registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, licensed mental health providers, mid-level providers that include a physician’s assistant and nurse practitioner, a physician, dental care, and access to 24-hour emergency care. Pursuant to our commitment to the welfare of those in the agency’s custody, ICE spends more than $269 million annually on the spectrum of healthcare services provided to detainees.
A list of all of ICE’s authorized detention facilities is publicly available here.
Congressional requirements described in the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill (2018) require ICE to make public all reports regarding an in-custody death within 90 days. The table below includes those reports, beginning in Fiscal Year 2018.
Previous detainee death review documents that have been requested and provided via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request are also posted in the FOIA Library at https://www.ice.gov/foia/library
