U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – commonly called by its acronym, ICE – has a responsibility to enforce immigration laws. The agency works with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and other agencies.
According to ICE’s website, the agency is responsible for:
- Investigating the illegal movement of people
- Investigating the illegal movement of goods and products
- Preventing terrorism
ICE also identifies and arrests people the agency believes present a danger to national security or public safety, and people who enter the U.S. illegally or overstay a visa. There are four divisions of ICE:
- Enforcement and Removal Operations. Commonly called ERO, the Enforcement and Removal Operations division finds undocumented immigrants and arrests them. ERO also carries out immigration court orders of removal.
- Homeland Security Investigations Office of Intelligence. This division, referred to as HSI-Intel, uses technology to gather intelligence. They handle operations unrelated to immigration, too – they operate the National Incident Response Unit, or NIRU, which coordinates emergency preparation and responses to national emergencies, natural disasters, disease pandemics and terrorist attacks.
- Homeland Security Investigations. Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, investigates activities that occur as a result of the illegal movement of people and goods (both in and out of the U.S.). These things can include human rights violations, human and drug smuggling, weapons smuggling and financial crimes.
- Office of International Affairs. The Office of International Affairs, or OIA, conducts investigations into transnational criminal organizations, and they provide training to foreign law enforcement agencies.
There are many ways to immigrate to the United States without having to deal with ICE. If you’re considering immigrating to the U.S., we may be able to help you. Call us at 414-383-6700 to talk to an immigration attorney who can explain your options today.
