U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is an investigative agency that operates within the department of homeland security. This organization was formed in the year 2003 as a result of an agreement between the investigative and the interior enforcement forces of the United States Customs services. Congress granted ICE a chance to combine with the civil and criminal authorities enforce laws for increasing public safety because of the 9/11 tragedy events (“What is Immigration and Customs Enforcemen”, n.d.). The agreement also involved immigration and naturalization services organizations to maximize the level of security within the country. U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates following the goal of promoting homeland security and safety of the citizens by advocating for law and enforcement of the federal law. The rules guiding the operation of the ICE are formulated considering the trade, immigration, and border control. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has become an essential agency in maximizing the level of public safety.
ICE operates through the enforcement and removal operations branch responsible for enforcing the immigration laws of the United States. The organization achieves its objective by efficiently implementing and removing illegal aliens paying attention to particular illegal aliens capable of causing a threat to public safety (Kalhan, 2010). People considered to be unlawful aliens should show signs of posing threat to national security and investigate on people who recently crossed-border. In situations where illegal immigrants are put in custody, Enforcement and Removal Operations is responsible for managing such people. For instance, this department removed 366,192 people considered to be illegal immigrants with 191, 412 confirmed to be criminals (Finno-Velasquez, Cahill, Ullrich, & Matthews, 2018 ). As a result, ICE performs its role in maximizing the level of security to the citizens because most of the terrorist actions are associated with illegal immigrants.
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ICE’s homeland security investigations play aggressive roles in investing terrorists and institutions capable of threatening public safety. In an attempt of achieving this objective, ICE agency conducts investigation across various activities that may harm public safety. For instance, cybercrime has caused threat to the lives of many people especially with the rise of technology. As a result, ICE agency has become an essential organization responsible for investigating the origin of the crimes and convicting individuals found guilty of committing such crimes. This department of ICE investigates different infrastructural platforms likely to cause threats to companies and organizations as a result of sabotage, attack, and exploitation (“Changing Patterns of Interior Immigration Enforcement in the United States”, 2019). Through the enforcement actions by the ICE, there has been reduction in terrorist activities such as human smuggling and weapon terrors. The agency has a department of intelligence that conducts an investigative approach to curb all the events likely to harm the life of citizens.
The local law collaboration enforcement collaborates with ICE in an attempt of strengthening the level of security to the public safety. The functions performed by ICE are designed to serve the interests of people in public safety. ICE offers security programs by controlling immigrants as they cross the border to the United States (Nixon & Qiu, 2018). As a result, most of the duties performed by the ICE agency are considered as civil but not criminal enforcement. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is a legal organization but does not involve regular police intervention. Police engagement occurs in situations where the ICE investigative officials find an individual or organization guilty for causing a threat to the public. ICE also operates in the Human rights department, but they are not allowed to wear police uniforms. However, people found guilty of violating the law are convicted and subjected to the law enforcement system. ICE officials seek permission in situations where they need to access the jails and prisoners.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have evolved since its establishment over the past 20 years. The agency was formed to prevent terrorist acts by eliminating people, money, and activities that facilitated criminal activities. During this period, it was recognized as the department of justice because it played an essential role in preventing actions such as money laundering and human trafficking. Majority of people during this period focused on protecting the public from activities capable of causing harm. Today, Immigration and Customs Enforcement have shifted to implementing deportation acts. As a result, the duties of ICE have moved from mere protection to the deportation of illegal immigrants. The changes occurred in the year 2009 when the Congress started funding the activities of ICE agency (“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement”, n.d.). Congress provided financial support that created a chance for constructing detainee centers. Today, ICE deports all illegal employees irrespective of if they cause security threats to the nation or they are looking for a better life in the United States.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has engaged in deportation activities that violate the constitutional expectations of the agency. For instance, ICE has detained majority of immigrants from the United States without following the deportation procedure (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, n.d.). For example, most of the ICE deportation tactics violate most of the human rights such as fair hearing in courts without considering individual circumstances for seeking immigration. Government and the agency make judgments through the rubber stamp system posing threats of civil liberties. The constitution guarantees people equal protection and prevention from disasters and terror actions. However, ICE and cross border functions demonstrate a high rate of discrimination and breaking families. The problem reveals through commitment to exercising unreasonable searches and conviction even for people seeking a better life in the United States. These activities break American families as people found in the country without legal documents are deported because they are categorized as criminals. Immigration and Customs Enforcement violates the rights of individuals because the agency has the rights to stop pursuing the deportation of an individual.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement has the power to prevent any request for pursuing deportation of a particular national from the United States. The agency fulfills this role by asking the immigration judge to close or reopen a removal case that may be filed by an individual or group of people. As a result, prosecutorial discretion is a risky process, especially in situations where an individual does not have removal proceedings. Under such circumstances, a person should not be in a position to contact immigrant enforcement officials without consulting the attorney general. Denial of prosecutorial discretion depends on whether the applicant has a criminal record. It is constitutional for people from all foreign nationals provided they do not have legal status in the United States (Rosenblum & Brick, 2011). Using prosecutorial discretion plays an essential role in assisting the agency in identifying individuals, causing a threat to national and public safety. The organization offers prosecutorial discretion to foreign national not found guilty for committing crimes in history.
The functioning of the ICE changed depending on the president and economic situations. George Bush, Barrack Obama, and Trump have caused a change in the operation of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, especially in its roles. For instance, President George Bush established the catch and release policy in the US as they awaited a lengthy hearing in courts (Morton & Secretary, 2012). This policy focused on reducing the overloading experienced in the immigration court system. Under the ruling regime of Barrack Obama, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency had the powers for exercising detention and deporting immigrants. Central roles were redirected, and the agency focused on dealing with illegal immigrants who caused the greatest threat to the nation and border safety. Under Obama administration, Congress established the DACA program designed to register children brought into the United States. Trump administration has caused significant changes in the operation of the organization as it requires ICE executive to deport all the people found to be in the United States illegally (Young, 2017). As a result, the agency has removed people who have lived peacefully in the United States for several years.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has enacted an executive order that requires the agency to maximize the level of public safety. As a result, Congress has passed laws that seek to increase the budget to facilitate the functioning of ICE (Martin, 2011). Under this policy, everyone has become a target for the ICE. The level of detention and deportation has increased revealing the effects of tightening the immigration policies. Immigrant officials focus on eliminating any individual found within the United States without legal requirements. The executive order has increased the number of deportees because every person remains vulnerable to deportation.
The functioning of the ICE is perceived to be a way for taking the country back to the exercise that focuses on exercising discriminatory activities. Lawyers see this act as a policy of facilitating discriminatory actions that existed in the country in the 1950s (Hacker et al., 2011). The Immigrations and Customs Enforcement increases prevent the DAPA program that is designed to temporarily held parents for undocumented childhood arrivals. Establishing this program indicates that most of the people in the country and innocent immigrants in the United States are convicted and deported to the country of origin. The DACA students program is also likely to end under the implementation of new promise by President Trump. The program focuses on waiting for the current plan to lapse and fail to renew the program. This program indicates that children of illegal immigrants are also deported. Current events in the United States show that ICE has both positive and negative impacts.
The current event in Texas, where fort police officers arrested a man threatening to burn girlfriend’s house, reflects the positive impact of ICE. This action shows the fundamental role for the agency is maximizing the level of national and public safety (Correa-Cabrera & Payan, 2018). The incidence also involved detaining men of Mexican immigrants suspected to be in the country illegally. After arresting and detaining the suspects, armed men attacked the parking lot showing that the arrests helped in minimizing the effects of the attack. Illegal immigrants in the United States are perceived to be the source of attacks that threaten the lives of people in the country.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has caused family separation at the border level. The implementation of the executive order and the increased level of immigrants’ detention increase the number of people deported (Correa-Cabrera & Payan, 2018). The Customs and border are responsible for patrolling and monitoring the border operation. As a result, the increased level of protecting Canada and Mexico has resulted in the separation of many people, especially parents from their family members. The program has been arresting and jailing adults in the borders preventing the opportunity for depriving such people of meeting family members.
In conclusion, immigrations and Customs Enforcement has increased the level of security in the United States. The agency has experienced changes over the last 20 years. The changes reflect through the changing roles in the United States regarding immigration. The changes experienced in the current operation of the agency change depending on economic aspects and president in the country. This information shows that ICE has both positive and adverse effects on immigrants into the United States.
References
Changing Patterns of Interior Immigration Enforcement in the United States, 2016 -2018. (2019, July 30). Retrieved from https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/interior-immigration-enforcement-united-states-2016-2018
Correa-Cabrera, G., & Payan, T. (2018). Political Turpitude: The Negative Impact of Zero-Tolerance Immigration Policies on Irregular Labor Markets. Issue Brief, 7.
Finno-Velasquez, M., Cahill, B., Ullrich, R., & Matthews, H. (2018). Heightened Immigration Enforcement and the Well-Being of Young Children in Immigrant Families. ZERO TO THREE, 27.
Hacker, K., Chu, J., Leung, C., Marra, R., Pirie, A., Brahimi, M., ... & Marlin, R. P. (2011). The impact of immigration and customs enforcement on immigrant health: perceptions of immigrants in Everett, Massachusetts, USA. Social science & medicine, 73(4), 586-594.
Kalhan, A. (2010). Rethinking immigration detention. Colum. L. Rev. Sidebar, 110, 42.
Martin, L. (2011). The geopolitics of vulnerability: children's legal subjectivity, immigrant family detention and US immigration law and enforcement policy. Gender, Place & Culture, 18(4), 477-498.
Morton, J., & Secretary, A. (2012). US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Nixon, R., & Qiu, L. (2018, July 03). What Is ICE and Why Do Critics Want to Abolish It? Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/us/politics/fact-check-ice-immigration-abolish.html
Rosenblum, M. R., & Brick, K. (2011). US immigration policy and Mexican/Central American migration flows. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ballotpedia.org/U.S._Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement
What is Immigration and Customs Enforcement? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.federallawenforcement.org/ice/what-is-ice/
Young, E. (2017, January 31). Trump's Immigration Orders Signal End Of Civil Rights Era. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trumps-immigration-orders-signal-end-of-civil-rights_b_588d396ee4b0de286b257414
