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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The ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is responsible for upholding the agency’s professional standards through a multi-disciplinary approach of security, inspections and investigations. OPR promotes organizational integrity by vigilantly managing ICE’s security programs, conducting independent reviews of ICE programs and operations, and impartially investigating allegations of serious employee and contractor misconduct, as well as internal and external threats against ICE personnel and facilities.
OPR assesses pre-employment suitability and continuously evaluates background investigations of the ICE workforce. OPR also manages physical security and classified national security information, which includes administering clearance levels and access to classified information, systems and equipment. OPR provides ICE senior leadership with an independent assessment of their programmatic compliance with requirements of agency policies, procedures, and detention standards. OPR’s role in safeguarding the organization permits the agency to focus on its larger mission of promoting homeland security and public safety.
As the Associate Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), Mr. Rodriguez is responsible for OPR’s efforts to ensure ICE’s organizational integrity through a multi-layered approach of investigations, security operations, inspections and detention oversight. He leads a unique organization that is equal parts law enforcement and security, internal affairs and inspections, and a vital service provider to ICE’s workforce, stakeholders and leadership. He is also the ICE Chief Security Officer.
Mr. Rodriguez strongly believes in his teams’ ability to meet and exceed mission requirements by anticipating needs and adapting to change. He cultivates a climate of respect and diversity of ideas to advance the organization, and values agility, honesty, courage and resolve. To promote a common vision and shared values, he challenges the status quo and strategically drives results and innovation, by developing and involving people in the decisions that impact their work. Mr. Rodriguez consistently mentors, advises and coaches others within and outside his organization, while he strives to develop his own skills and gain new perspectives.
Mr. Rodriguez has led enterprise-wide, intensive reviews of all OPR programs, each of which have resulted in significant organizational transformation that has modernized and enhanced OPR’s service to stakeholders within and outside of ICE. Among other accomplishments, these efforts have led to the development and deployment of the first ever Inspection and Detention Oversight case management system, the creation of mission-specific workload staffing models and performance reporting dashboards, as well as comprehensive resources to improve operational performance and mission support within and outside OPR.
Mr. Rodriguez entered the Senior Executive Service in 2011 and has over 29 years of law enforcement experience. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, where he serves as ex-officio member of the Police Standards, Ethics and Image Committee and has helped develop model policies to improve policing globally. Mr. Rodriguez holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences and a Master of Public Administration.
Prior to OPR, he was the Special Agent in Charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso, Texas; in that capacity, he was responsible for operations throughout West Texas and New Mexico. Mr. Rodriguez began his law enforcement career in 1991 as a Puerto Rico Police Officer, working as a criminal investigator in the Criminal Intelligence Bureau and task force officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration. In 1997, he began his federal service as a Special Agent with the Office of the Inspector General, Federal Emergency Management Agency. In 2001, he transferred to the former U.S. Customs Service.
