DHS ICE

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in 2003 through a merger of investigative and interior enforcement elements from the former U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. As an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, ICE operates with more than 20,000 law enforcement and support personnel across over 400 offices in the United States and internationally. The agency's annual budget is approximately $8 billion, supporting its mission to promote homeland security and public safety.

ICE's operations are primarily structured under three directorates: Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), and the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA). HSI is the principal investigative component, tasked with disrupting transnational criminal organizations and terrorist networks that exploit U.S. customs and immigration laws. Its investigations cover a wide array of transnational crimes, including narcotics smuggling, human trafficking, financial fraud, intellectual property theft, and cybercrime.

ERO upholds U.S. immigration law, focusing on the enforcement of laws against those who pose a danger to national security or public safety, or who undermine the immigration system. This directorate manages the immigration enforcement process from identification and arrest to detention and removal. OPLA serves as the exclusive legal representative for DHS in immigration removal proceedings and provides legal counsel to ICE programs on matters such as customs, criminal, and immigration law enforcement, as well as administrative law issues.