United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security law-enforcement agency responsible for immigration enforcement, customs investigations, and transnational-crime investigations.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, is a federal law-enforcement agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Its stated mission combines criminal investigations, enforcement of U.S. immigration laws, protection of national security, and support for public safety. The agency was established in 2003 as part of the post-September 11 reorganization of federal homeland-security functions under the Homeland Security Act of 2002. ICE absorbed or inherited substantial investigative, detention, deportation, and intelligence capabilities from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the United States Customs Service. Those predecessor organizations were dissolved or reorganized when DHS began operating on March 1, 2003. The restructuring divided responsibilities among three principal DHS agencies: ICE, which handles immigration enforcement and many customs-related investigations; U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which is responsible for border inspection and patrol; and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which administers immigration benefits and naturalization. ICE personnel generally do not patrol the international borders, a role primarily associated with CBP and the U.S. Coast Guard. The agency has two principal operational components. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigates transnational crime, including customs fraud, drug and weapons trafficking, human trafficking, child exploitation, financial crime, intellectual-property violations, cybercrime, and terrorism-related activity. HSI also works with domestic and international law-enforcement partners and contributes personnel to Joint Terrorism Task Forces. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) administers much of the civil immigration-enforcement system, including locating, arresting, detaining, and removing people subject to immigration proceedings or final removal orders. ERO's use of detention and its enforcement priorities have made it the most visible and politically contested part of ICE's work. ICE also includes supporting offices responsible for management and program administration, legal representation of the Department of Homeland Security in immigration matters through the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), and internal investigations and integrity functions through the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). The agency maintains field offices across the United States and overseas detachments or liaison capabilities. ICE's public role has varied substantially across administrations. During the Obama administration, enforcement priorities formally emphasized people considered national-security threats, serious criminals, and recent border crossers, although the administration oversaw historically high removal totals under the counting practices then in use. The first Trump administration broadened enforcement priorities and increased workplace, courthouse, school, religious-site, and other interior-enforcement activity. Those policies generated large protests, including the Occupy ICE movement, and calls from some lawmakers and activists to abolish or substantially restructure the agency. The Biden administration revised enforcement priorities but retained ICE, while detention conditions, the use of solitary confinement, and the breadth of detainer and removal practices continued to draw criticism. The agency again became a central focus of immigration protests and legal challenges during the second Trump administration. ICE is not a commercial brand and does not sell consumer products. Its public-facing services consist instead of investigations, immigration-enforcement operations, detention and removal administration, legal representation for DHS, public-information programs, and cooperation with domestic and foreign authorities. Its reputation is consequently shaped less by conventional brand marketing than by the consequences of it…
History
Federal immigration enforcement developed through a series of institutional changes. The Supreme Court's 1876 decision in Chy Lung v. Freeman affirmed a federal role in regulating immigration. Congress subsequently created federal immigration administration, initially within the Treasury Department through the Immigration Act of 1891. Immigration responsibilities moved to the Department of Commerce and Labor in 1903 and, after that department was divided in 1913, to the Department of Labor. The Immigration and Naturalization Service was formed in 1933. In 1940, amid heightened national-security concerns, immigration and naturalization functions were placed under the Department of Justice. The September 11, 2001 attacks prompted a broad reorganization of federal security institutions. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 created DHS and redistributed functions previously divided between the INS and the Customs Service. On March 1, 2003, those predecessor organizations were dissolved or reorganized, and their investigative, intelligence, detention, deportation, and customs-enforcement capabilities were distributed among ICE, CBP, and USCIS. ICE therefore began as a hybrid agency: it combined criminal-investigative resources formerly associated with Customs with immigration-enforcement functions formerly associated with the INS. The Federal Protective Service was initially placed within ICE but transferred to another DHS organization in 2009. The Federal Air Marshal Service also moved temporarily into ICE before returning to the Transportation Security Administration in 2005. In its early years, ICE emphasized the connection between immigration enforcement and national security. HSI became the agency's principal criminal-investigative arm, while ERO assumed responsibility for much of the apprehension, detention, and removal system. Operation Community Shield, launched in 2005, illustrated the agency's use of both criminal-investigative tools and immigration authorities against transnational gangs. The Obama administration maintained formal enforcement priorities that focused resources on national-security threats, serious criminals, and recent border crossers. Nevertheless, the administration recorded a historically large number of removals and expulsions under the counting rules used at the time. Immigration advocates criticized the scale and collateral effects of enforcement, while the administration argued that prioritization and limited resources required concentrating on people who posed the greatest risks. ICE data also indicated that a substantial share of removals involved people without criminal convictions or people convicted of relatively minor offenses. The first Trump administration broadened interior-enforcement priorities and increased the visibility of ICE operations. The agency conducted more workplace and community operations and became involved in enforcement activity near places such as schools, religious institutions, and courthouses. These developments contributed to the Occupy ICE movement and other nationwide demonstrations in 2018–2020. Some HSI leaders separately expressed concern that association with ERO's civil-enforcement mission was damaging cooperation with local jurisdictions and obscuring HSI's investigative role. The Biden administration retained ICE but attempted to narrow enforcement priorities. Ed Gonzalez was nominated as director in 2021 but withdrew in 2022 when Senate confirmation appeared unlikely. Acting leadership continued, and Johnson remained in the role until his retirement in 2023. Detention levels, detainer practices, removal classifications, and the use of solitary confinement remained subjects of criticism and litigation. The agency returned to the center of national political conflict during the second Trump administration. Expanded removal efforts, the rollback of protections for locations described as sensitive, military assistance, use of expedited authorities, arrest targets, and allegations of racial profiling led to protests and court challenges. ICE's long-term institutional position remains tied to unresolved debates over federal immigration authority, detention, due process, civil rights, and the division of responsibilities among DHS agencies.
- 2021
Ed Gonzalez nominated as director
[1]The Biden administration nominated Gonzalez, but he withdrew the nomination in 2022 amid insufficient Senate support.
- 2018
Occupy ICE movement expands nationally
[1]Protests that began outside an ICE facility in Portland spread to several major U.S. cities.
- 2009
Federal Protective Service leaves ICE
[1]The Federal Protective Service was transferred from ICE to another DHS organizational structure.
- 2005
Operation Community Shield launches
[1]ICE initiated a national effort focused on violent transnational street gangs and removable noncitizens linked to them.
- 2003
ICE begins operations
[1]On March 1, ICE began operating within DHS after the INS and Customs Service were dissolved or reorganized.
- 2002
Homeland Security Act establishes the framework for ICE
[1]The act created the Department of Homeland Security and provided for the reorganization that produced ICE and related immigration agencies.
Products and positioning
U.S. federal law-enforcement agency focused on immigration enforcement, customs investigations, transnational crime, and national-security support.
Federal criminal investigations · 2003
Homeland Security Investigations
HSI is ICE's principal investigative component. It investigates transnational crime and violations involving customs, immigration, trafficking, drugs, weapons, financial systems, intellectual property, cybercrime, child exploitation, and terrorism-related activity. It works with U.S. agencies, foreign governments, and multinational task forces.
Immigration enforcement · 2003
Enforcement and Removal Operations
ERO carries out much of ICE's interior immigration-enforcement mission. Its activities include identifying and arresting people subject to immigration proceedings or removal orders, managing detention arrangements, transporting detainees, and carrying out removals and returns.
Government legal services · 2003
Office of the Principal Legal Advisor
OPLA provides legal representation for DHS in immigration-court proceedings and related matters. It advises ICE personnel and represents the government's position in removal litigation and administrative proceedings.
Oversight and internal investigations · 2003
Office of Professional Responsibility
OPR supports integrity and accountability within ICE through investigations and reviews concerning employee misconduct, corruption, standards of conduct, and other professional-responsibility matters.
Controversies
2025
Expanded enforcement, due-process, and racial-profiling allegations
Second-term Trump administration policies involving expanded arrests, detention, expedited removals, military support, and enforcement in sensitive locations prompted lawsuits, protests, and allegations that ICE engaged in racial profiling.
2021
Detention and solitary-confinement criticism
Advocacy groups and legal observers criticized detention conditions and reported increased use of solitary confinement during the Biden administration.
2018
Family-separation and interior-enforcement controversy
ICE became a principal target of criticism during the first Trump administration over expanded interior enforcement, detention, family separation, and operations affecting workplaces, schools, religious sites, and other community locations.
Marketing campaigns
- 2019San Francisco ICE office protests
United States
A month-long protest outside ICE's San Francisco office used demonstrations and drum circles to oppose family separation and immigration-enforcement practices.
Outcome. The action contributed to continuing local and national protests against ICE.
- 2018Occupy ICE
United States
A protest movement opposing ICE detention, deportation, and family-separation policies. It began near an ICE facility in Portland and spread to cities including Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Diego, and New York.
Outcome. The movement generated facility occupations, arrests, and wider public debate over abolishing or restructuring ICE.
- 2005Operation Community Shield
United States
A national enforcement initiative targeting violent transnational street gangs through criminal investigations, arrests, and immigration-removal authorities.
Outcome. The operation became an early example of ICE combining HSI investigative work with ERO immigration powers.
Brand decisions
2025
Expand deportation and interior-enforcement operationsStrategyBackground
The second Trump administration returned to a hardline immigration-enforcement approach and sought faster, more visible removals.
Action taken
The administration expanded arrest activity, removed limits associated with sensitive locations, used military assistance in some states, and promoted public visibility for enforcement actions.
Aftermath
The approach triggered nationwide demonstrations, lawsuits, and disputes involving due process, detention, racial profiling, and the scope of executive authority.
2021
Adopt revised enforcement prioritiesStrategyBackground
The Biden administration sought to focus federal immigration enforcement on public-safety, national-security, and border-management priorities.
Action taken
ICE retained its enforcement and detention functions while operating under revised administrative priorities.
Aftermath
Detention, detainers, removal classifications, and solitary confinement continued to attract litigation and criticism despite the policy shift.
2018
Broaden interior-enforcement prioritiesStrategyBackground
The first Trump administration sought to expand immigration enforcement beyond the narrower priority categories emphasized during the Obama administration.
Action taken
ICE increased arrests and high-profile enforcement operations involving people believed to be unlawfully present, including individuals without serious criminal convictions.
Aftermath
The policy increased ICE's visibility and contributed to nationwide protests, calls for abolition, and criticism from local governments and civil-rights groups.
2003
Create a hybrid immigration and customs-enforcement agencyStrategyBackground
The post-September 11 DHS reorganization sought to consolidate federal investigative and immigration-enforcement capabilities while separating enforcement from immigration-benefit adjudication and border patrol.
Action taken
ICE was formed from functions of the INS and Customs Service, alongside CBP and USCIS.
Aftermath
The hybrid structure gave ICE a broad mandate but also created recurring debate over whether criminal investigations and civil immigration enforcement should be institutionally separated.
Recent events
- 2018
Senior HSI officials request separation from ICE[1]
Other · Leadership change
Nineteen special agents in charge reportedly asked DHS leadership to make HSI an independent agency, arguing that its investigative work was being hindered by its association with civil immigration enforcement.
- 2018
Occupy ICE protests spread across U.S. cities[1]
Campaign · Other
Demonstrations outside ICE facilities expanded from Portland into a coordinated national protest movement opposing detention, deportation, and family-separation policies.
- 2005
ICE begins Operation Community Shield against transnational street gangs[1]
Other
The initiative used ICE investigative and immigration authorities to target violent transnational gangs and removable noncitizens associated with criminal activity.
Sources2 sources
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