Major city police leaders join ICE to discuss partnership

WASHINGTON — This week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hosted a "Partnerships for Public Safety" roundtable discussion with approximately 15 law enforcement leaders from across the country to discuss how communities are safer when local agencies partner with ICE.

"Local, state and tribal law enforcement officers are critical to helping ICE achieve its public safety mission," said ICE Director John Morton. "All you have to do is look at the enforcement results to see how our partnerships are impacting public safety around the country. Together, we will continue our unwavering commitment to keep Americans safe."

 "Immigration enforcement and homeland security investigations are an important part of ensuring the safety of our major cities," said Major City Chiefs Association Executive Director Darrel Stephens. "The Major City Chiefs Association truly appreciates ICE's efforts to solicit the input of local law enforcement leaders who know the unique challenges of policing America's largest cities."

ICE has nurtured strong collaborative partnerships with local law enforcement agencies through a variety of task forces, cooperative investigations, training programs and information-sharing agreements. As criminal organizations have grown more sophisticated, complex and global in nature, these partnerships allow federal and local officers to work together with a focus on increasing public safety.

These partnerships include:

• ICE's 287(g) program;
• Secure Communities;
• Criminal Alien Program (CAP);
• Transnational criminal street gang task forces;
• Human smuggling and trafficking task forces;
• Border Enforcement Security Task Forces (BEST); and
• Task forces targeting individuals and criminal organizations that sexually exploit children.

Through these task forces, ICE created a seamless web of border enforcement and a united front to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.

Partnership and public safety programs results for FY 2011

• ICE removed more than 343,151 aliens; including 195,700 criminal aliens or 50% with criminal convictions (Oct. 1, 2010 through Aug. 19, 2011).
  • 952 criminal aliens removed were convicted of homicide
  • 4,972 criminal aliens removed were convicted sex offenders
  • 37,888 criminal aliens were convicted of serious drug offenses
• ICE's Secure Communities program identified 64,713 aliens who were removed from the country; including 16,187 aliens convicted of crimes including murder, rape or aggravated assault (Level 1). (through Aug. 19)
• ICE's Criminal Alien Program resulted in the removal of 84,969 aliens with criminal convictions from local, state and federal jails (through Aug. 29).
• ICE's 287(g) program resulted in the removal of more than 17,008 aliens (through Aug. 22).
• ICE and its partners on the Border Enforcement Security Task Forces (BEST) have seized 690 guns, $14,964,861 in cash and stopped 243,756.46 lbs. of drugs (through Aug. 31).
• Operation Predator, ICE's nationwide initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers resulted in the arrest of more than 638 child predators (through Aug. 31).
• ICE also continues its efforts to identify and remove criminal alien gang members as part of Operation Community Shield. This year, ICE agents working in conjunction with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide have arrested a total of 4,468 street gang members and associates (through Aug. 31).

Roundtable attendance at the conference, which occurred on Thursday and Friday, included chiefs and leaders from the following police departments:

• Dallas, Texas;
• Houston, Texas;
• Arlington, Texas;
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C.;
• Las Vegas, Nev.;
• Los Angeles, Calif.;
• San Diego, Calif.;
• Mesa, Ariz.;
• Milwaukee, Wis.;
• Minneapolis, Minn.;
• New Orleans, La.;
• Portland, Ore.;
• Seattle, Wash.;
• Salt Lake City, Utah; and
• Montgomery County, Md.