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US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY:
U.S. CUSTOMS & BORDER PROTECTION (“CBP”)
U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (“ICE”)
U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION SERVICES (“CIS”)
* All information contained in this lecture was taken from the above websites, along with www.dhs.gov
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DHS: HISTORY
11 days after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge was appointed the first Director of the Office of Homeland Security in the White House.
DHS integrated all or part of 22 different federal departments and agencies into a unified, integrated Department to oversee and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard the US against terrorism and respond to any future attacks.
Congress passed the Homeland Security Act in November 2002 that made DHS a formal stand-alone Cabinet level department to further coordinate and unify national homeland security efforts.
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Dhs: mission
DHS seal
Created in June 2003
Symbolic of the Department’s mission: it prevents attacks and protects Americans – on the land, in the sea, and in the air.
The eagle’s wings breaking through the red ring was used to suggest that DHS will break through “traditional bureaucracy” and perform government functions differently
The eagle’s chest represents the three sections of America’s homeland: air, land, and sea. In the “air” there are 22 stars to represent the 22 entities that have come together to form the department.
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Dhs: Organization chart
Who joined dhs for immigration purposes?
Lead up to 9/11: Today:
| U.S. Customs Service (was part of Treasury Dept.) | U.S. Customs & Border Protection - took over inspection, border, and ports of entry responsibilities U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement – took over customs law enforcement responsibilities |
| The Immigration & Naturalization Service (“INS”) (was part of the Justice Dept.) | U.S. Customs & Border Protection – took over inspection functions and the U.S. Border Patrol U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement – took over immigration law enforcement: detention and removal, intelligence, and investigations U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services – took over immigration adjudications and benefits programs |
| Federal Protective Service | - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – took over until 2009; now it resides within the National Protection and Programs Directorate |
| Animal and Plant Health Inspections Service (partial – was part of the Agriculture Dept.) | - U.S. Customs and Border Protection – took over agricultural imports and entry inspections |
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Dhs: core values
INTEGRITY: “Service Before Self” Each of us serves something far greater than ourselves. To our nation, we represent the President and the Congress. To the world, seeking to visit or do business with us, we are often the first Americans they meet. We will faithfully execute the duties and responsibilities entrusted to us, and we will maintain the highest ethical and professional standards.
VIGILANCE: “Guarding America” We will relentlessly identify and deter threats that pose a danger to the safety of the American people. As a Department, we will be constantly on guard against threats, hazards, or dangers that threaten our values and our way of life.
RESPECT: “Honoring our Partners” We will value highly the relationships we build with our customers, partners, and stakeholders. We will honor concepts such as liberty and democracy, for which America stands.
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u.s. customs & border protection
With more than 60,000 employees, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP, is one of the world's largest law enforcement organizations and is charged with keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the U.S. while facilitating lawful international travel and trade.
As the United States’ first unified border entity, CBP takes a comprehensive approach to border management and control, combining customs, immigration, border security, and agricultural protection into one coordinated and supportive activity.
The men and women of CBP are responsible for enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws and regulations. On a typical day, CBP welcomes nearly one million visitors, screens more than 67,000 cargo containers, arrests more than 1,100 individuals, and seizes nearly 6 tons of illicit drugs. Annually, CBP facilitates an average of more than $3 trillion in legitimate trade while enforcing U.S. trade laws.
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cbp: history
On March 1, 2003, CBP became the nation’s first comprehensive border security agency with a focus on maintaining the integrity of the nation’s boundaries and ports of entry.
Before CBP, security compliance and facilitation of international travel and trade were conducted by MULTIPLE organizations. The consolidation of these roles and responsibilities allowed CBP to develop seamless security procedures while ensuring compliance with the nation’s immigration, health, and international trade laws and regulations.
In establishing CBP, its leadership ensured that the best traditions of its legacy agencies continued from:
U.S. Customs Service, which traced its original functions to July 31, 1789, and noted its role as the progenitor of numerous federal bureaus and agencies. The Customs Service closed with the dawn of CBP, but its commissioner became the leader of CBP and the majority of its staff and responsibilities came to CBP.
Immigration inspectors, who traced their responsibilities to the establishment of the Office of the Superintendent of Immigration on March 3, 1891.
Agriculture inspectors, who traced their roles to the passage of the Plant Quarantine Act on Aug. 20, 1912.
Border Patrol agents, who brought their responsibility for maintaining the integrity of the U.S. borders as they have done since Congress authorized the hiring of Border Patrol personnel on May 28, 1924.
In addition to this core of specialties and responsibilities present at CBP’s founding, CBP also developed an air and marine monitoring capability with the formation of its third uniformed division, the Office of Air and Marine on Jan. 17, 2006.
MISSION STATEMENT Why CBP exists...
To safeguard America's borders thereby protecting the public from dangerous people and materials while enhancing the Nation's global economic competitiveness by enabling legitimate trade and travel.
VISION STATEMENT What the Agency aspires to become...
To serve as the premier law enforcement agency enhancing the Nation's safety, security, and prosperity through collaboration, innovation, and integration.
CORE VALUES of USCBP
Vigilance is how we ensure the safety of all Americans. We are continuously watchful and alert to deter, detect and prevent threats to our nation. We demonstrate courage and valor in the protection of our nation.
Service to Country is embodied in the work we do. We are dedicated to defending and upholding the Constitution of the United States. The American people have entrusted us to protect the homeland and defend liberty.
Integrity is our cornerstone. We are guided by the highest ethical and moral principles. Our actions bring honor to ourselves and our agency.
ETHOs of cbp:
Our shared identity, beliefs and aspirations...
We are the guardians of our Nation's borders.
We are America's frontline.
We safeguard the American homeland at and beyond our borders.
We protect the American people against terrorists and the instruments of terror.
We steadfastly enforce the laws of the United States while fostering our Nation's economic security through lawful international trade and travel.
We serve the American people with vigilance, integrity, and professionalism.
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Cbp: border security
CBP’s top priority is to keep terrorists and their weapons from entering the U.S. while welcoming all legitimate travelers and commerce. CBP officers and agents enforce all applicable U.S. laws, including against illegal immigration, narcotics smuggling and illegal importation. CBP deploys highly trained law enforcement personnel who apprehend more than 1,000 individuals each day for suspected violations of U.S. laws.
CBP's border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations, along U.S. borders by agents from the United States Border Patrol and from the air and sea by agents from Air and Marine Operations. Also at ports of entry, agriculture specialists are deployed to protect U.S. agriculture from the introduction of pests or disease from overseas sources.
CBP provides security and facilitation operations at 328 ports of entry throughout the country. Use this interactive map to find information specific to air, sea and land entries. https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/ports-entry
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Cbp: Immigration inspection program
Individuals seeking entry into the United States are inspected at Ports of Entry (POEs) by CBP officers who determine their admissibility. The inspection process includes all work performed in connection with the entry of aliens and United States citizens into the United States, including pre-inspection performed by the Immigration Inspectors outside the United States.
"An officer is responsible for determining the nationality and identity of each applicant for admission and for preventing the entry of ineligible aliens, including criminals, terrorists, and drug traffickers, among others. U.S. citizens are automatically admitted upon verification of citizenship; aliens are questioned and their documents are examined to determine admissibility based on the requirements of the U.S. immigration law."
Under the authority granted by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended, a CBP officer may question, under oath, any person coming into the United States to determine his or her admissibility. In addition, an inspector has authority to search without warrant the person and effects of any person seeking admission, when there is reason to believe that grounds of exclusion exist which would be disclosed by such search.
The INA is based on the law of presumption: an applicant for admission is presumed to be an alien until he or she shows evidence of citizenship; an alien is presumed to be an immigrant until he or she proves that he or she fits into one of the nonimmigrant classifications.
Cbp: immigration inspection program (cont.)
The mission of the inspections program is to control and guard the boundaries and borders of the United States against the illegal entry of aliens. In a way that:
Functions as the initial component of a comprehensive, immigration enforcement system;
Prevents the entry of terrorists, drug traffickers, criminals, and other persons who may subvert the national interest;
Deters illegal immigration through the detection of fraudulent documents and entry schemes;
Initiates prosecutions against individuals who attempt or aid and abet illegal entry;
Cooperates with international, Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to achieve mutual objectives;
Contributes to the development and implementation of foreign policy related to the entry of persons;
Facilitates the entry of persons engaged in commerce, tourism, and/or other lawful pursuits;
Respects the rights and dignity of individuals;
Examines individuals and their related documents in a professional manner;
Assists the transportation industry to meet its requirements;
Responds to private sector interests, in conformance with immigration law;
Continues to employ innovative methods to improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the inspections process.
Cbp arrival / departure forms: i-94 & i94w
Foreign visitors to the U.S. arriving via air or sea no longer need to complete paper Customs and Border Protection Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record or Form I-94W Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival/Departure Record. Those who need to prove their legal-visitor status—to employers, schools/universities or government agencies—can access their CBP arrival/departure record information online. CBP now gathers travelers’ arrival/departure information automatically from their electronic travel records. Because advance information is only transmitted for air and sea travelers, CBP will still issue a paper form I-94 at land border ports of entry. If travelers need the information from their Form I-94 admission record to verify immigration status or employment authorization, the record number and other admission information they are encouraged to get their I-94 Number. Upon arrival, a CBP officer stamps the travel document of each arriving non-immigrant traveler with the admission date, the class of admission, and the date that the traveler is admitted until. If a traveler would like a paper Form I-94, one can be requested during the inspection process. All requests will be accommodated in a secondary setting. Upon exiting the U.S., travelers previously issued a paper Form I-94 should surrender it to the commercial carrier or to CBP upon departure. Otherwise, CBP will record the departure electronically via manifest information provided by the carrier or by CBP. This automation streamlines the entry process for travelers, facilitates security and reduces federal costs. CBP estimates that the automated process will save the agency $15.5 million a year.
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Cbp: border patrol history
The United States Border Patrol is the mobile, uniformed law enforcement arm of U.S. Customs and Border Protection within the Department of Homeland Security responsible for securing U.S. borders between ports of entry. The Border Patrol was officially established on May 28, 1924 by an act of Congress passed in response to increasing illegal immigration.
As mandated by this Act, the small border guard in what was then the Bureau of Immigration was reorganized into the Border Patrol. The initial force of 450 officers was given the responsibility of combating illegal entries and the growing business of alien smuggling.
Cbp: border patrol mission & daily duties
Mission: Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the focus of the Border Patrol has changed to detection, apprehension and/or deterrence of terrorists and terrorist weapons. Although the Border Patrol has changed dramatically since its inception in 1924, its overall mission remains unchanged: to detect and prevent the illegal entry of aliens into the United States. Together with other law enforcement officers, the Border Patrol helps maintain borders that work, facilitating the flow of legal immigration and goods while preventing the illegal trafficking of people and contraband. The Border Patrol is specifically responsible for patrolling the 6,000 miles of Mexican and Canadian international land borders and 2,000 miles of coastal waters surrounding the Florida Peninsula and the island of Puerto Rico. Agents work around the clock on assignments, in all types of terrain and weather conditions. Agents also work in many isolated communities throughout the U.S.
Daily Duties :One of the most important activities of a Border Patrol agent is line watch. This involves the detection, prevention and apprehension of terrorists, undocumented aliens and smugglers of aliens at or near the land border by maintaining surveillance from a covert position, following up leads, responding to electronic sensor television systems, aircraft sightings, and interpreting and following tracks, marks and other physical evidence. Some of the major activities are traffic check, traffic observation, city patrol, transportation check, administrative, intelligence, and anti-smuggling activities.
Cbp: border patrol training
As one of the most rigorous and demanding law enforcement training programs in the country, U.S. Border Patrol training has become the envy of the federal law enforcement community. All newly hired Border Patrol Agent Trainees are required to complete a 117-day basic training program which includes instruction in Law, Operations, Spanish, Driver Training, Physical Techniques, and Firearms. Scenario-Based Training plays a significant role in the trainees' development as it allows them to apply the theoretical information in life like situations. The U.S. Border Patrol Academy is located in Artesia, NM. While in training, all trainees receive full pay and benefits.
Federal Law Enforcement Center (FLETC) courses are: Communications, Ethics and Conduct, Report Writing, Introduction to Computers, Fingerprinting, and Constitutional Law. The U.S. Border Patrol Academy is located in Artesia, NM.
Cbp: border patrol operations
The primary mission of the Border Patrol is to protect our Nation by reducing the likelihood that dangerous people and capabilities enter the United States between the ports of entry. This is accomplished by maintaining surveillance, following up leads, responding to electronic sensor alarms and aircraft sightings, and interpreting and following tracks. Some of the major activities include maintaining traffic checkpoints along highways leading from border areas, conducting city patrol and transportation check, and anti-smuggling investigations.
Often, the border is a barely discernible line in uninhabited deserts, canyons, or mountains. The Border Patrol utilizes a variety of equipment and methods to accomplish its mission in such diverse terrain. Electronic sensors are placed at strategic locations along the border to detect people or vehicles entering the country illegally. Video monitors and night vision scopes are also used to detect illegal entries. Agents patrol the border in vehicles, boats, and afoot. In some areas, the Border Patrol even employs horses, all-terrain motorcycles, bicycles, and snowmobiles.
Cbp enforcement & patrols
Linewatch and Signcutting
Linewatch operations are conducted near international boundaries and coast lines in areas of Border Patrol jurisdiction to prevent the illegal entry and smuggling of aliens into the United States and to intercept those who do enter illegally before they can escape from border areas. Signcutting is the detection and the interpretation of any disturbances in natural terrain conditions that indicate the presence or passage of people, animals, or vehicles.
Traffic Checkpoints
Traffic checks are conducted on major highways leading away from the border to (1) detect and apprehend illegal aliens attempting to travel further into the interior of the United States after evading detection at the border and (2) to detect illegal narcotics.
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Cbp enforcement & patrols (cont.)
Transportation Checks These are inspections of interior-bound conveyances, which include buses, commercial aircraft, passenger and freight trains, and marine craft.
Marine Patrol
Along the coastal waterways of the United States and Puerto Rico and interior waterways common to the United States and Canada, the Border Patrol conducts border control activities from the decks of marine craft of various sizes. The Border Patrol maintains over 109 vessels, ranging from blue-water craft to inflatable-hull craft, in 16 sectors, in addition to Headquarters special operations components.
Horse and Bike Patrol Horse units patrol remote areas along the international boundary that are inaccessible to standard all-terrain vehicles. Bike patrol aids city patrol and is used over rough terrain to support linewatch.
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Cbp apprehensions: drug seizures:
In FY 2012, Border Patrol agents made over 364,000 arrests of people illegally entering the country. Considerable success has been achieved in restoring integrity and safety to the Southwest border, by implementing our border-control strategy. These include Operation Gatekeeper in San Diego, CA, Operation Hold the Line in El Paso, TX, Operation Rio Grande in McAllen, TX, Operation Safeguard in Tucson, AZ, and the Arizona Border Control Initiative (ABCI) along the Arizona border.
An increase in smuggling activities has pushed the Border Patrol to the front line of the U.S. war on drugs. Our role as the primary drug-interdicting organization along the Southwest border continues to expand. The heightened presence of Border Patrol agents along the Southwest border has burdened narcotic traffickers and alien smugglers. In FY 2012, Border Patrol agents on the Southwest border seized more than 5,900 pounds of cocaine and more than 2.2 million pounds of marijuana.
Cbp: from the air & sea
U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) is a federal law enforcement organization dedicated to serving and protecting the American people. We apply advanced aeronautical and maritime capabilities and employ our unique skill sets to preserve America's security interests.
With approximately 1,800 federal agents and mission support personnel, 240 aircraft, and 300 marine vessels operating throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, AMO conducts its mission in the air and maritime environments at and beyond the border, and within the nation's interior.
AMO interdicts unlawful people and cargo approaching U.S. borders, investigates criminal networks and provides domain awareness in the air and maritime environments, and responds to contingencies and national taskings.
In Fiscal Year 2018, AMO enforcement actions resulted in the approximate seizure or disruption of 283,503 pounds of cocaine; 301,553 pounds of marijuana; 180,444 pounds of methamphetamine; 872 weapons and $34.2 million; 2,373 arrests and 47,744 apprehensions of illegal aliens.
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Cbp: air & marine operations missions
AMO's missions fall into four broad categories that reflect our core competencies: interdiction, investigation, domain awareness, and contingency operations and national tasking missions.
Interdiction - encompasses our efforts to intercept, apprehend, or disrupt threats in the land, sea, and air domains as they move toward or across the US borders.
Investigation - AMO leverages the expertise of our agents in the air and marine domains to conduct investigations to defeat criminal networks.
Domain Awareness - is the effective understanding of the environment and information associated with the various domains (air, land, and maritime) that could affect safety, security, the economy, or the environment. AMO employs advance systems to contribute to domain awareness.
Contingency Operations and National Tasking Missions - AMO performs a range of aviation and maritime contingency operations and national tasking missions, including Disaster Relief, Contingency of Operations, Humanitarian Operations, Enforcement Relocation, Search and Rescue, and National Special Security Events.
Cbp in the fight against human trafficking
In 2000, Congress signed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act into law, representing the beginning of a large-scale, coordinated effort by the United States government to fight human trafficking.
A decade later, human trafficking remains prevalent. According to the most recent figures available (Source: United Nations, International Labor Organization):
There are at least 12.3 million enslaved adults and children around the world "at any given time."
Of these, at least 1.39 million are victims of commercial sexual servitude, both internationally and within national borders. More than half, 56 percent, of all forced labor victims are women and girls.
What is human trafficking?
Although the legal definition of human trafficking is complex, the simple meaning of it is not. It occurs when a person is induced by force, fraud or coercion to:
Work under the total or near-total control of another person or organization (slavery or involuntary servitude)
Forced to pay off a loan by working instead of paying money, for an agreed-upon or unclear period of time (debt bondage) or even without an agreement as to the timeframe (peonage)
Perform a sex act for money or anything of value (if under 18, force, fraud or coercion is not required)
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, although many people think of the sex trade when they think of human trafficking, this crime also occurs in such labor situations as:
Domestic servitude
Labor in a prison-like factory
Migrant agricultural work.
In addition, with respect to labor situations, the initial agreement to travel or to perform work does not mean that the employer is later allowed to restrict a victim's freedom or use force or threats to obtain repayment. Human trafficking and human smuggling are sometimes, but not always, linked, because not all individuals who are smuggled are trafficked, and movement is not required for trafficking to occur.
A government partnership
Four executive agencies of the U.S. government, along with state and local law enforcement organizations, work together as well as with nonprofit organizations to combat human trafficking. The primary U.S. executive agencies include:
USDHS U.S. Dept. of State U.S. Dept. of Justice U.S. Dept. of Health
& Human Services
Combating human trafficking
A complex crime
Human trafficking entangles victims in a nearly impenetrable web, for a number of reasons:
The victim may not realize that he or she is imprisoned, because coercion is psychological (it may not be physical)
Victims are typically impoverished and financially dependent on their captors
Often the crime takes place in plain view-e.g. in a restaurant, worksite, or private home-and is not immediately apparent to observers
Victims can be exploited for labor, sex, or both, particularly in private homes.
Force, fraud, or coercion
These terms include any situation where an individual is forced to do something against their will, or where they are tricked into doing something by someone who is lying to them or suppressing the truth.
Force, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, can be active & physical or indirect & psychological (including threats). This term includes: Coercion, Compulsion, Constraint, & Restraint
Coercion refers to behaviors including: Threats of harm or physical restraint; Trying to get a person to believe that if they don't do something, it will result in serious harm or physical restraint of themselves or someone else; The abuse (or threatened abuse) of law or the legal process
Fraud refers to intentionally distorting the truth in order to get someone else (who relies on that version of the truth) to surrender a legal right or give up something valuable that belongs to them.
Us immigration & customs enforcement (“ICE”)
ICE was created in 2003 through a merger of the investigative and interior enforcement elements of the former U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. ICE now has more than 20,000 law enforcement and support personnel in more than 400 offices in the United States and around the world.
ICE'S mission is to protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety.
This mission is executed through the enforcement of more than 400 federal statutes and focuses on smart immigration enforcement, preventing terrorism and combating the illegal movement of people and goods.
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Ice: budget & Directorates
The agency has an annual budget of approximately $6 billion, primarily devoted to three operational directorates — Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA). A fourth directorate – Management and Administration (M&A) – supports the three operational branches to advance the ICE mission.
Combating Transnational Crime
As one of the country's premier federal law enforcement agencies, ICE is dedicated to detecting and dismantling transnational criminal networks that target the American people and threaten our industries, organizations and financial systems. Combating cross-border criminal activity is the largest single area of responsibility of HSI, and is a critical component of the overall safety, security, and well-being of our nation.
HSI investigates the criminal enterprises that engage in a broad range of illicit activity including narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, gang violence, money laundering and other financial crimes, intellectual property theft, and customs fraud. HSI also investigates a broad range of cybercrime, including child exploitation in the commitment to securing both physical and virtual borders.
HSI is committed to identifying and disrupting the movement of illicit proceeds generated by these criminal organizations and activities in an effort to safeguard our nation's trade, travel and financial systems.
Our workforce maintains effective relationships throughout the global law enforcement community and works closely with our domestic and international partners at every level to ensure the safety of all Americans.
Ice: homeland security investigations (hsi)
HSI is the principal investigative component of DHS with more than 10,000 employees, including over 7,000 special agents and 700 intelligence analysts who are assigned to more than 200 cities throughout the U.S. as well as 69 overseas offices and 8 Department of Defense Liaisons in more than 51 countries. HSI's international presence represents DHS' largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad. HSI conducts transnational criminal investigations that protect the U.S. against threats to its national security and brings to justice those seeking to exploit U.S. customs and immigration laws worldwide.
HSI has broad legal authority to investigate all types of cross-border criminal activity. This includes investigations and intelligence efforts into a myriad of smuggling and cross-border criminal activity, to include: financial crimes, bulk cash smuggling, cybercrimes, exploitation of children and child sex tourism, weapons smuggling and export enforcement, trade crimes such as commercial fraud and intellectual property theft, human smuggling and trafficking, narcotics smuggling and trafficking, identity and benefit fraud, human rights violations, transnational gang activity, counterterrorism and visa security.
Through its investigative efforts, HSI works with foreign, federal, state and local law enforcement partners to protect the national security and public safety of the United States by disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal organizations that engage in cross-border crime.
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Hsi: Historic origin begins in 1789 when Congress established the U.S. Customs Service and in 1891 with the creation og the Office of Superintendent of Immigration under the Treasury Department.
Customs houses were used as administrative headquarters at ports of entry around the country. Customs officials inspected, taxed, stamped and released imported goods. The agency also stopped banned items from entering the country. Officials used ships, called cutters, to stop ships bearing cargo at sea and to prevent smugglers from bringing items ashore. The list of barred items changed over time, but included undeclared liquor, tobacco, firearms, drugs, stolen property and certain foods. The 1976 Arms Export Control Act gave Customs the additional authority to investigate and prevent international weapons trafficking.
The Immigration Act of 1891 made immigration a federal function. Immigration inspectors at various ports of entry inspected passenger manifests, conducted health inspections and accepted or rejected immigrants. In 1906, Congress passed the Basic Naturalization Act, which framed the rules for naturalization within the United States. The law established standard naturalization forms and encouraged state and local courts to relinquish their naturalization jurisdiction to federal courts.
Hsi: the past 100 years
In 1933, Congress established the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 expanded INS’ responsibilities by allowing it to investigative certain gang, fraud and human smuggling activities, and enforce sanctions against employers who hired undocumented aliens. Additionally, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 enabled the hiring of additional INS special agents for interior enforcement and bolstered certain criminal penalties, including those for alien smuggling.
On Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists on board American Airlines Flight 11 intentionally crashed the plane into the World Trade Center's North Tower. The tower was home to the U.S. Customs House at 6 World Trade Center.
After the events of 9/11, the government created a stronger approach to national security with the passage of the Homeland Security Act and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The department was formed by combining 22 different federal organizations into a unified force.
In 2003, Customs and INS were merged into the department’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In 2010, HSI was formed within ICE from elements of ICE’s previous Offices of Investigations, Intelligence and International Affairs.
Hsi: combating criminal organizations illegally exploiting America’s travel, trade, financial, & immigration systems
HSI’s workforce includes special agents, analysts, auditors and support staff. Its men and women are assigned to cities throughout the United States and to offices around the world. HSI’s international force is the department’s largest investigative presence abroad and gives HSI one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.
HSI has broad legal authority to enforce a diverse array of federal statutes. It uses this authority to investigate all types of cross-border criminal activity, including:
Commercial fraud and intellectual property theft; Cybercrimes;
Financial crimes, money laundering & bulk cash smuggling; Human rights violations;
Human smuggling and trafficking; Transnational gang activity;
Immigration, document and benefit fraud; Export enforcement;
Narcotics and weapons smuggling/trafficking; International art & antiquity theft.
Ice: Effectiveness of hsi
When Homeland Security Investigations was formed, ICE's goal was to combat criminal threats facing the United States with a law enforcement force that would be recognized worldwide for its expertise and effectiveness. Years later, HSI can lay claim to achieving this ambitious goal. HSI's successes in combating terrorism and enhancing national security have resonated throughout the global law enforcement community, private industry and general public.
In HSI's first full year in existence, its criminal investigations increased in nearly every area to ICE's prior three-year average. Criminal arrests rose by almost 30 percent; indictments by nearly 18 percent; search warrants by almost 60 percent; seizures of illicit drugs by more than 40 percent; intellectual property rights seizures by 128 percent; and weapons and ammunition seizures by a staggering 762 percent. This standard of excellence has continued ever since, with HSI's dedicated workforce affecting global change and disrupting and dismantling criminal organizations.
Today, HSI carries out its mission in an increasingly complex world that poses immense technical challenges to America's homeland security. The task is daunting, but HSI has risen to the challenge with intelligence, flexibility and commitment to excellence. Indeed, HSI has proven that it will continue to achieve the goal that has become its motto – to forge a new legacy of honor, service and integrity.
Ice immigration enforcement
Securing our nation's borders and safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system is a primary focus of ICE officers and agents throughout the country. Immigration enforcement is the largest single area of responsibility for ERO and is a critical component of the overall safety, security, and well-being of our nation.
While ERO has significant assets near the border, the majority of its immigration enforcement mission takes place in the interior of the country. To accomplish ICE's important immigration enforcement objectives, ERO coordinates closely with law enforcement partners within the U.S. and around the world. One of the most notable law enforcement coordination and partnership efforts within ERO involves the biometric and biographic identification of priority aliens who are incarcerated within federal, state, and local prisons and jails.
ERO works with law enforcement partners in the shared responsibility for ensuring the safety of our communities through a variety resources and programs. The 287(g) program enables a state or local law enforcement entity to receive delegated authority, training, and technology resources for immigration enforcement within their jurisdictions. ICE's Law Enforcement Support Center coordinates response and enforcement actions with law enforcement partners using biometrics to identify foreign-born individuals arrested for criminal offenses.
ERO also enhances the impact of multi-agency task forces through its administrative authority to arrest individuals deemed a threat to public safety on their unlawful immigration status without additional criminal charges. Finally, leveraging resources available through foreign law enforcement partners including INTERPOL and the ICE Attaché corps, ERO develops investigative leads and provides support in locating and arresting foreign nationals wanted for crimes committed abroad who are now at-large in the U.S.
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Ice: enforcement and removal operations (ero)
The ERO directorate upholds U.S. immigration law at, within, and beyond our borders. ERO's work is critical to the enforcement of immigration law against those who present a danger to our national security, are a threat to public safety, or who otherwise undermine the integrity of our immigration system.
ERO operations target public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and gang members, as well as individuals who have otherwise violated our nation's immigration laws, including those who illegally re-entered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges. ERO deportation officers assigned to INTERPOL also assist in targeting and apprehending foreign fugitives or Fugitive Alien Removal (FAR) cases who are wanted for crimes committed abroad and who are now at-large in the U.S.
ERO manages all aspects of the immigration enforcement process, including identification and arrest, domestic transportation, detention, bond management, and supervised release, including alternatives to detention. In addition, ERO removes aliens ordered removed from the U.S. to more than 170 countries around the world.
Ice: ero’s mission
To identify, arrest, and remove aliens who present a danger to national security or are a risk to public safety, as well as those who enter the United States illegally or otherwise undermine the integrity of our immigration laws and our border control efforts. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) upholds America's immigration laws at, within and beyond our borders through efficient enforcement and removal operations.
ERO enforces the nation's immigration laws in a fair and effective manner. It identifies and apprehends removable aliens, detains these individuals when necessary and removes illegal aliens from the United States. ERO transports removable aliens from point to point, manages aliens in custody or in an alternative to detention program, provides access to legal resources and representatives of advocacy groups and removes individuals from the United States who have been ordered to be deported.
Ice: ero’s Field operations
ERO’s enforcement and removal efforts are conducted by its 24 national field offices. At Headquarters, the Field Operations Division provides guidance to and coordination among those offices. This direction is often in reference to the numerous programs and initiatives through which ERO identifies, arrests, pursues for prosecution, and removes priority aliens. HQ Field Operations comprises the following three divisions, all of which provide guidance, implement and inform policy and procedures, and facilitate enhanced coordination between HQ and the field offices:
The Domestic Operations Division oversees, directs, and coordinates all ERO Field Operations activities throughout the nation's field offices and sub-offices in an effort to enhance national security, border security, and public safety through the enforcement of DHS’ Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities. This map shows the location and area of responsibility of ERO field offices. For questions regarding the location of who is currently in ICE custody, please use the Online Detainee Locator System. For the location and information about specific detention facilities visit the Detention Facility Locator.
Ice: ero’s Field operations (Cont.)
The Special Operations Division oversees and coordinates ERO’s intelligence collection efforts, firearms training and protective equipment procurement, various tactical programs and communications efforts, and oversees ERO operations that support the prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery plans for critical and significant incidents such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters, or other national emergencies or incidents.
The Law Enforcement Systems and Analysis (LESA) Division is responsible for helping inform the development of ERO strategies and supporting continuous enhancement of ERO business processes to execute those strategies. Through data collection and analysis and technology and process improvements, LESA delivers tools, studies, and recommendations that assist ICE’s decision-making and planning (strategic, business, and operational). LESA studies ICE’s operations and resources (personnel, processes, technology, and infrastructure) to find areas for continuous improvement.
Ice: ero’s Enforcement Division
The broad authority of ICE allows for the identification and removal of dangerous, often recidivist, criminals engaged in crimes such as murder, predatory sexual offenses, narcotics trafficking, alien smuggling, and a host of other crimes that have a profoundly negative impact on our society. The Enforcement Division manages the enforcement initiatives and components through which ERO identifies and arrests removable aliens.
ERO's Enforcement Division comprises the following:
Criminal Alien Program (CAP): provides ICE-wide direction and support in the biometric and biographic identification, arrest, and removal of priority aliens who are incarcerated within federal, state, and local prisons and jails, as well as at-large criminal aliens that have circumvented identification.
National Fugitive Operations Program (NFOP): established to dramatically expand the agency's efforts to locate, arrest, or otherwise reduce the fugitive alien population in the US. In 2009, NFOP responsibilities expanded to include the identification, location, and arrest of at-large criminal & previously removed aliens.
Ice: ero’s Custody Management Division
Provides policy and oversight for the administrative custody of one of the most highly transient and diverse populations of any or detention system in the world. Custody Management manages ICE detention operations efficiently and effectively to provide for the safety, security, and care of aliens in ERO custody. ERO's Custody Management Division comprises the following:
Alternatives to Detention Division: Provides an alternative to detention through the use of technology, is responsible for the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children and families, and provides guidance related to immigration bond management.
Custody Programs Division: Enhances ICE’s immigration detention system through the coordination of programs such as the Detention Reporting and Information Line, a toll free number that addresses and resolves case inquiries made by aliens in ICE custody.
Detention Management Division: Coordinates with the 24 ERO Field Offices to ensure a safe and secure environment for aliens within ERO custody through facility compliance, on-site monitoring, and the acquisition of detention facilities.
Ice: ero’s removal division
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) removes aliens from the U.S. who are subject to a final order of removal or have been granted voluntary departure. ERO’s Removal Division coordinates, manages, and facilitates efforts to successfully remove aliens from the United States. In collaboration with other ICE offices and the Department of State, ERO also works with international partners to successfully execute removal operations.
ero’s Removal Division comprises the following:
ICE Air Operations Division: Provides commercial and chartered aviation support, both domestically and internationally, to all 24 ERO Field Offices strategically located throughout the United States, providing air transportation to transfer aliens to designated detention locations and/or to staging sites in order to accomplish removal flights to aliens’ countries of origin.
Removal Management Divisions East and West: Supports the 24 ERO Field Offices nationwide in the coordination of removals, and develops and implements strategies to support ERO's mission to remove priority aliens from the United States through collaboration within the agency as well as interagency stakeholders, foreign embassies and consulates, and international networks.
International Operations Division: Comprised of ERO’s overseas-based personnel and supports the 24 ERO Field Offices nationwide through regular and ongoing liaison with host-nation government officials in the coordination of removal operations.
Ice: office of the principal legal advisor
The Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) is the largest legal program in DHS, with over 1,100 attorneys and 350 support personnel. By statute, OPLA serves as the exclusive representative of DHS in immigration removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, litigating all removal cases including those against criminal aliens, terrorists, and human rights abusers.
OPLA also provides a full range of legal services to ICE programs and offices. OPLA provides legal advice and prudential counsel to ICE personnel on their customs, criminal, and immigration law enforcement authorities, the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, ethics, legal liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and a range of administrative law issues, such as contract, fiscal, and employment law. OPLA represents the agency before the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Board of Contract Appeals. OPLA attorneys provide essential support to the Department of Justice in the prosecution of ICE cases and in the defense of ICE’s authorities in federal court.
In addition to its headquarters in Washington, D.C., OPLA has 25 Offices of Chief Counsel with a presence in more than 60 locations throughout the United States.
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Ice: office of the principal legal advisor
Mission:
We will protect the homeland by diligently litigating cases while adhering to the highest standards of professional conduct, providing timely and accurate legal advice; and optimizing resources to advance DHS and ICE missions.
Field Legal Operations:
Field Legal Operations (FLO), OPLA’s largest component, comprises a headquarters team and 26 Offices of Chief Counsel (OCCs) across the United States. The OCCs are responsible for representing DHS in detained and non-detained removal cases before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). FLO also supports OPLA’s full-service legal model with employment attorneys on location in the field and attorneys embedded with their local ICE Special Agents in Charge offices.
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ICE: Office of the Principal Legal Advisor Enforcement & Litigation
Through its close client engagement and specialized legal advice and counsel, Enforcement and Litigation (E&L) advances ICE’s homeland security mission by enforcing the nation’s immigration, customs and criminal laws and policies, defending the operational authorities and decisions of ICE agents and officers in federal court and guiding and supporting the advocacy of ICE attorneys before the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals. Within the portfolio are several specialized Divisions, which are described below.
Homeland Security Investigations Law Division (HSILD)
Through specialized legal advice, training, and litigation support, Homeland Security Investigations Law Division’s three sections (the Criminal Law Section, Human Rights Law Section and National Security Law Section) advance ICE’s efforts to investigate and prosecute those who threaten our national security or violate our customs and immigration laws, while working to combat human smuggling and trafficking and deny safe haven in the United States to perpetrators of human rights abuses abroad.
The Criminal Law Section provides customs law and criminal law advice to ICE Homeland Security Investigations and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility on a wide range of topics, including financial crimes, asset forfeiture, the repatriation of cultural property, confidential informants and undercover operations, intellectual property rights, cybercrime, child exploitation, export enforcement, identity and benefit fraud, international law enforcement cooperation, search and seizure law and worksite enforcement.
The Human Rights Law Section provides specialized legal advice to agency personnel on human smuggling and trafficking matters. They work with a wide range of government, non-governmental, advocacy, and international stakeholders, to ensure that human rights abusers and war criminals are denied asylum, lawful permanent residence, citizenship and other immigration benefits.
The National Security Law Section provides oversight and support for immigration removal proceedings and criminal prosecutions involving terrorists and foreign intelligence agents and works with other DHS components, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State and the Department of Justice, on legal and policy matters involving national security.
ICE: Office of the Principal Legal Advisor Enforcement & Litigation (Cont.)
Enforcement and Removal Operations Law Division (EROLD)
The attorneys in the Enforcement and Removal Operations Law Division provide timely, accurate and comprehensive legal advice and operational guidance to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. The Division’s attorneys counsel agency personnel and review and draft legislation, regulations, legal opinions, policy directives and other materials on the legal aspects of immigration enforcement functions, including: alternatives to detention, civil immigration arrest and detention authorities, civil rights and disabilities, conditions of confinement, detainers, expedited removal processes, family detention, fugitive operations, juvenile issues, repatriation initiatives, the 287(g) program and the Visa Waiver Program. These attorneys also provide specialized support to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which oversees the enforcement and administration of laws involving certain nonimmigrant students and their dependents.
Immigration Law and Practice Division (ILPD)
As the agency’s appellate counsel, the Immigration Law and Practice Division reviews all ICE appeals filed with the Board of Immigration Appeals, represents ICE before the Board in oral arguments and supplemental briefs, and coordinates closely with the Department of Justice and DHS Office of General Counsel in deciding whether to pursue further review of adverse federal court immigration decisions. The appellate lawyers provide guidance on a wide range of immigration law issues, including criminal grounds of removability and foreign fugitive removability and extradition. The division’s attorneys also serve as both the agency’s citizenship law experts who help prevent the inadvertent detention and removal of U.S. citizens and as its legal experts on immigration fraud prevention and protection-law matters including refugees, asylum, withholding of removal, protection under the Convention Against Torture and Temporary Protected Status.
Ice: Preventing terrorism
With a workforce numbering approximately 20,000 including deportation officers, special agents, analysts, and professional staff, ICE stands at the forefront of our nation's efforts to strengthen border security and prevent the illegal movement of people, goods, and funds into, within, and out of the United States. The agency's broad investigative authorities are directly related to our country's ongoing efforts to combat terrorism at home and abroad.
HSI is the largest contributor to the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces and employs its unique and exclusive immigration and trade-based authorities to disrupt terrorist networks and prevent attacks against the homeland. This work includes HSI initiating investigations into transnational criminal organizations and subjects of national security concern or interest who are involved in narcotics smuggling, human trafficking and smuggling, and immigration document and benefit fraud, as well as investigating trade-based money laundering and intellectual property crimes used to finance or support terrorists or their activities. HSI is also responsible for preventing terrorist groups, illicit procurement networks, and hostile nations from acquiring U.S. military hardware, sensitive technical data, dual-use technology, and other materials used to develop weapons of mass destruction.
HSI and ERO are recognized as essential partners in numerous national and international task force operations that target terrorist activities and are dedicated to investigating, prosecuting, and removing human rights violators and war criminals to prevent the U.S. from becoming a safe haven.
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Us citizenship & immigration services
USCIS is the government agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States. We are 19,000 government employees and contractors working at more than 200 offices across the world.
A myriad of applications for immigration benefits, including but not limited to nonimmigrant visas, legal permanent resident applications, employment authorization to work in the U.S., student visas, asylum applications, and naturalization applications, are decided by USCIS officers.
There is one USCIS Field Office located in Detroit, Michigan, not far from where the USICE Field Office is located and the U.S. Detroit Immigration Court.
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Uscis: main services
Citizenship (includes the related naturalization process)
Immigration of Family Members
Working in the U.S.
Verifying an Individual’s legal right to work in the U.S.
Humanitarian Programs
Adoptions
Civic Integration
Genealogy
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On an average day, USCIS:
Adjudicates more than 26,000 requests for various immigration benefits.
Processes 3,700 applications to sponsor relatives and future spouses.
Processes 200 refugee applications around the world and grant asylum to 45 individuals already in the United States.
Screens 146 people for protection based on a credible fear of persecution if they return home.
Answers 50,000 phone calls to our toll-free phone line and serve 2,200 people at informational appointments in our 86 domestic field offices.
Ensures the employment eligibility of more than 80,000 new hires in the United States.
Fingerprints and photographs 13,000 people at 137 Application Support Centers.
Approves applications and petitions to help unite 25 foreign-born orphans with the Americans who want to adopt them.
Grants lawful permanent residence to approximately 2,100 people and issue approximately 7,000 Green Cards.
Receives 335,000 visitor sessions to our website.
Welcomes nearly 2,000 new citizens at naturalization ceremonies. Typically, 36 of these new citizens are members of the U.S. armed forces.
USCIS: Mission & Core Values
Mission: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers the nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values.
Core Values:
Integrity - We will always strive for the highest level of integrity in our dealings with the public, our fellow employees, and the citizens of the US. We review each case before us on its own merit and reach decisions that are based on the law and facts. We will be ever mindful of the importance of the trust the American people have placed in us to administer the nation’s immigration system fairly, honestly, and correctly.
Respect - We will demonstrate respect in all of our actions. We will ensure that everyone we affect will be treated with dignity and courtesy regardless of the outcome of their case. We will model this principle in all of our activities with each other and the public. Through our actions, USCIS will become known as an example of respect, dignity, and courtesy.
Innovation - As we meet the challenges to come, we will strive to find the most effective means to accomplish our goals. We’ll use innovation, resourcefulness, creativity, and sound management principles to strive for world-class results. We’ll approach every challenge with a balance of enthusiasm and wisdom in our effort to fulfill our vision.
Vigilance - In this era of increased global threats and security challenges, we will remain mindful of our obligation to provide immigration services in a manner that strengthens and enhances our nation’s security. We will exercise vigilance as we perform our mission. We will carefully administer every aspect of our work to uphold the security and integrity of the immigration system so that new immigrants and the public can hold in high regard the privileges and advantages of lawful presence in the United States.
USCIS: Funding
USCIS is funded primarily by immigration and naturalization benefit fees charged to applicants and petitioners. Fees collected from individuals or organizations filing immigration benefit requests are deposited into the Immigration Examinations Fee Account (IEFA). Congress created the IEFA in 1988, establishing the authority to recover the full cost of immigration benefit processing. This account represents approximately 95 percent of USCIS’ fiscal year (FY) 2016 total budget authority. The remaining budget authority comes from two other mandatory fee accounts and appropriated funding for the E-Verify program.
The Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 requires that USCIS conduct biennial fee reviews for the IEFA. USCIS last adjusted its fees in November 2010. Results of the FY 2016/2017 fee review indicated that fees should be adjusted by a weighted average increase of 21 percent to ensure full cost recovery. These include the costs associated with fraud detection and national security; service and case processing; and providing services without charge to refugee and asylum applicants and to others for fee waivers or exemptions.
USCIS: History
On March 1, 2003, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially assumed responsibility for the immigration service functions of the federal government. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. No. 107–296, 116 Stat. 2135) dismantled the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and separated the former agency into three components within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
We were formed to enhance the security and improve the efficiency of national immigration services by exclusively focusing on the administration of benefit applications. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), components within DHS, handle immigration enforcement and border security functions.
| 1891 | Office of Superintendent of Immigration created and placed in the Treasury Department |
| 1895 | Office of Superintendent of Immigration upgraded to Bureau of Immigration |
| 1903 | Bureau of Immigration transferred to the newly created Department of Commerce and Labor |
| 1906 | Naturalization Service created and Bureau of Immigration became the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization |
| 1913 | Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization divided into separate Bureaus – the Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization – and placed in the new Department of Labor |
| 1924 | U.S. Border Patrol created within the Bureau of Immigration |
| 1933 | The Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization reunited into a single agency, the INS |
| 1940 | The INS transferred from the Department of Labor to the Department of Justice |
| 2003 | The INS was abolished and its functions placed under three agencies – USCIS, ICE and CBP – within the newly created DHS |
USCIS benefits from a legacy of over 100 years of federal immigration and naturalization administration. The following chart is a brief chronology of the institutional history of USCIS.
Uscis: forms
The USCIS website contains a searchable database of all USCIS forms in a PDF format. As the forms contained in your text book are outdated, every time that we review a form, we will do so through downloading it from the USCIS website. The following link: https://www.uscis.gov/forms will take you to the webpage that contains the form, along with their instructions, filing fees, filing addresses, and other useful information.
The website also has a Spanish version, but all forms must be submitted in English. USCIS endeavors to provide multiple materials in various foreign languages; however, it is important for applicants to know that they will be interviewed in English by the USCIS officers in the United States. A person may bring a translator along with them to the USCIS interview, so long as it is not a naturalization interview. There is a narrow and limited exception that allows a person to bring a translator to a naturalization interview.
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Uscis: case status & processing times
Every application is assigned a unique receipt number. Case status updates are available on-line for each receipt number. However, many forms take several months or more to decide.
USCIS processes cases in the order that it receives them, and it tries to update the processing times for its applications each month. Unfortunately, as more application are filed, the wait times have triple for some applications over the past few years.
As an example of the long processing times, a popular form to file is the I-130 Petition for Alien Relative. A U.S. citizen may file this form on behalf of his/her spouse, parent, child, or sibling, and a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) may file this for his/her spouse, child under 21, or unmarried child over 21 years of age. Currently, there is a 12 month to 15.5 month processing time just to have this application decided. For children above the age of 21 and siblings of U.S. citizens, there is an additional wait time on top of this for visa numbers to become available after the approval of the I-130 petition; all LPR filed I-130 petitions also have additional wait times for visa availability after approval too.
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Alien registration number
Often referred to as an “A Number,” the alien registration number is a unique seven-, eight-, or nine0- digit number assigned to a noncitizen by the Department of Homeland Security.
Once issued, an alien’s A Number will be listed on all DHS documents, whether issued by CBP, ICE, or CIS. It is NOT the same as a social security number; however, it does allow DHS to track aliens through the various agencies that we have discussed this week.
The alien registration number is contained on both the front and back of a Legal Permanent Resident Card, and it is called the USCIS #. The receipt number from USCIS is also contained on the back of the card for the approved application that conferred the LPR status.
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U.S. Department of Homeland Security