New special agent in charge named for Homeland Security Investigations Detroit

DETROIT — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has named Vance Callender as the new special agent in charge over Michigan and Ohio for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office, based in Detroit.

As special agent in charge, Callender, a 24-year veteran of federal law enforcement, supervises a cadre of special agents located in seven offices and four posts-of-duty in Michigan and Ohio. HSI special agents are the primary investigative of DHS and protect national security by enforcing immigration and customs laws by conducting criminal conspiracy investigations of transnational criminal organizations who profit from cross-border crimes, such as: drug smuggling, illegal exporting munitions and high-tech items, money laundering, financial crimes, transnational gangs, human smuggling and trafficking, intellectual property rights, and crimes against children including child sex tourism and possessing child pornography.

"Having done tours on both borders and abroad, I hope to bring a unique perspective that leverages global support and resources to my agent’s international investigations," said Callender. "I'm excited to move to the Midwest and work with the local communities, but even more excited to work with a team of special agents in the region that are already known to be some of the best in the country.”

Prior to his selection, Callender was the deputy special agent in charge for HSI San Antonio, where he oversaw the investigations of over 200 special agents throughout Central and South Texas. Callender previously served in various headquarters and field leadership positions along both borders and overseas, including Assistant Special Agent in Charge in McAllen, Texas; Deputy Commander of the South Texas Corridor for DHS’s Joint Task Force-West; Operations Chief for Europe, Canada, and Mexico in headquarters; Resident Agent in Charge in Massena, New York; and Country Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica.

Callender began his law enforcement career in 1995 as a sheriff’s deputy in Victoria County, Texas, and in 2001 he became a Special Agent with the U.S. Customs Service in McAllen, Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Texas State University.