TOP STORY: International partnerships are key to fighting transnational crime

When you sit down with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Deputy Director Kumar Kibble, he'll tell you "bad guys don't respect our borders, and we need international partnerships to keep up with them."

He makes this statement on the heels of a recent trip to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, where he was joined by his chief of staff, Homeland Security Investigations' (HSI) executive associate director and HSI's deputy director of the Office of International Affairs.

The foursome spent a significant amount of time with Israeli and Palestinian law enforcement officials, all of whom are strong HSI partners. They also visited HSI offices in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. These offices are heavily involved in supporting HSI's investigative portfolio, which covers everything from human trafficking to cybercrime.

As part of their duties overseas, HSI special agents often examine visa applications for fraud, initiate investigations, coordinate with law enforcement partners and provide training and advice to Department of State consular officers. The work performed by these special agents is vital to protecting the United States against terrorist and criminal organizations.

Our HSI employees must "operate in a challenging environment — one that has political challenges and security challenges. Those are austere conditions," said Kibble.  

HSI, nonetheless, has been able to help deter threat financing and drug smuggling, provide expertise in areas such as intellectual property rights and customs procedures, and reduce illegal employment and immigration to the United States.

"We've been able to make a lot of headway," said HSI Executive Associate Director James Dinkins. "We have become a one-stop shop. They [law enforcement] can come to us with any transnational crime."