In the United States, there are various police and investigative agencies, both federal, state and local, that are responsible for enforcing the law according to their branch of jurisdiction.
Since the Trump administration began, and with it the immigration operations to perform the deportations In the case of mass expulsions of undocumented immigrants, several federal law enforcement agencies are involved in some of these actions.
In the social media and news videos and photographs of these operations are spread, in which many times you can see agents wearing vests bulletproof and uniforms with different insignia and badges such as: ICE, HSI, ERO, USMS, DEA, or Police, among others.
These joint operations by different agencies have to do with their implications, that is, that in this case they involve arrests of undocumented immigrants, which in turn are sought by offenses related to drugs, weapons, gangs, etc.
Below we list the federal law enforcement agencies involved in immigration enforcement operations, as well as their duties and responsibilities.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
ICE is the main agency that carries out and commands arrest operations of undocumented immigrants, and is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
ICE agents investigate and enforce the immigration laws, customs and border control. “Their job is to ‘protect America from crime and illegal immigration,’” the agency’s website states.
What agents do:
- They investigate transnational crimes, including human trafficking, exploitation of minors, and financial fraud.
- Immigration law is enforced at the borders and within the country
- Supervise the release of persons from custody.
ICE has four operational branches to advance its mission:
1.Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) ): The research component of ICE.
2. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO): administers the civil immigration detention system.
3.Management and Administration (M&A): Provides the infrastructure for ICE operations.
4.Office of the Chief Legal Counsel (OPLA): The largest legal program in the Department of Homeland Security.
You may be interested: Mecklenburg Sheriff Responds to New ICE Collaboration Project
United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
It is the agency in charge of tracking and stopping the trafficking, consumption and illegal distribution of controlled substances within the United States. The DEA is part of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
It also coordinates drug-related investigations abroad, as well as bringing before the criminal and civil justice system organizations and their members involved in the manufacture and distribution of controlled substances in the United States. This also includes both illegal drugs street drugs such as prescription drugs that are dosed illegally.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
It is the mobile, uniformed arm of U.S. Customs and Border Protection within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for protecting the United States borders between ports of entry.
What your officers do: CBP officers intercept narcotics and other contraband, misclassified merchandise, unlicensed technology and materiel, weapons, ammunition, fugitives, undocumented immigrants, and undeclared currency at all 329 U.S. international ports of entry (POE).
These agents are usually located at the country's borders and international airports.
Reliable resources in Spanish >>> Immigration Guide
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
ATF is a federal law enforcement agency within the DOJ that protects communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations, and the illegal use and trafficking of Firearms, the illegal use and storage of explosives, arson and bombing, acts of terrorism and the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products.
United States Marshals Service (USMS)
Known as the US Marshals Service, it is a federal law enforcement agency of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The duties of its agents include: protect and secure the federal court system, execute court orders, transport and guard federal prisoners, apprehend federal fugitives, investigate non-compliant sex offenders, recover missing children, manage and sell assets seized from criminals, and operate the Witness Security Program.
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