ICE Office of Community Engagement already hard at work in 2017

A critical part of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mission is to increase local and national understanding of the agency and foster trust and collaboration in communities across the United States. To that end, community relations officers are hard at work promoting ICE’s mission across the country by working with state and local law enforcement partners, community groups and other organizations to raise awareness and provide information about ICE and its activities.

Community relations officers are working to build a sustainable and agency-wide effort to actively engage with the public. They are identifying new community partners and opportunities to facilitate active discussions between the public and field leadership so that communities better understand ICE’s mission to enhance public safety and national security. ICE is genuinely interested in listening and responding to the public’s concerns and explaining its mission and focus while dispelling misinformation about the agency’s activities.

Longtime Community Relations Officer and Field Coordinator Raul B. Bustamante summed up the work he does: “I go forth into communities and listen, understand and speak. I express my passion and my compassion, but most importantly, I demonstrate passion and compassion to all I serve in my communities. I believe our program has truly made a difference in strengthening relations between local communities and ICE.”

The field coordinators may be reached at ICECommunityEngagement@ice.dhs.gov and individual community relations officers can be contacted here.