Organizational structure and divisions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

¶ … agency/organization in which you worked. Include information on the size of the organization (number of personnel, of what kinds) and the division of labor into units or departments. Obtain an organizational chart, or prepare one yourself, showing the formal structure of the organization.

The organization where I worked from April 24, 2012 to June 29, 2012 was U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Created in 2003, it is the main investigative body of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigation. It is a federal law enforcement agency whose main responsibility includes executing the immigration and custom laws of the United States to protect the country and to ensure the public security.

The detailed chart of the structure of the organization is attached in the Appendix A. ICE has a divisional organizational structure. It is headed by the Director who is appointed by the President of U.S. And approved by the Senate. The Director directly reports to the Secretary of Homeland Security. There are six leadership offices that are located within the office of the Director. These offices are headed by Assistant Directors and include Office of Public Affairs, Office of Congressional Relations, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Office of Professional Responsibility, Office of Detention Policy and Planning and Office of State, Local and Tribal Coordination. ("ICE Leadership Offices")

ICE is further divided into three law enforcement divisions. Executive Associate Directors who supervise these divisions (headed by Assistant Directors) reports to the Deputy Director. The three main divisions are as following:

Enforcement and Removal Operations

Enforcement and Removal Operations oversees that the immigration laws are enforced in a productive manner. The main responsibility of the ERO is to identify the illegal individuals and remove them from the United States. Hence, this unit conducts the arrest and removal of criminals who present a threat to the security of the nation and cripples the integrity of the immigrations laws.

Homeland Security Investigations

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is in charge for investigating the national and international activities that result from illicit flow of people and goods into the U.S. "HSI investigates illegal crimes, abuse of human rights, human trafficking, weapons and drugs smuggling and cybercrimes." ("Homeland Security Investigations") HSI also conducts investigations to protect the important buildings that are sensitive to attacks by the enemies of the states. It comprises of more than 10,000 employees and is divided into many divisions such as Domestic Operations, Intelligence, International Affairs, Mission Support, National Security Investigation Division and National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center. ("Homeland Security Investigations")

Management & Administration

Management & Administration is responsible for managing the budget, expenditures, recruitment, information technology systems, property and office equipments needs, finance, human resource management and workforce recruitment. Hence, it keeps track of the organization's performance measurements.

Therefore, the different divisions of ICE provide the services of investigation and security to the public and other federal agencies. ICE has an estimated 20,000 employees working in 400 offices in domestic and international offices. ("ICE Overview") Hence, the security mission of ICE has been carried out by a wide variety of law enforcement and intelligence professionals motivated by the spirit of contributing towards the safety and security of their country.

Identify the major goals of the organization. There are likely to be many. You may find it useful to break them down into primary and secondary goals. You may also find it useful to talk about formal and informal goals. If your agency provides services to a clientele, describe the clientele and describe the services that your agency provides for them.

The primary goal of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is to ensure the public safety and to promote the national security "through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade, and immigration." ("ICE Strategic Plan" 2) In June 2010, the agency laid out its strategic plan for the Fiscal Year 2010-2014. This plan comprehensively highlights how ICE will meet its responsibilities by fulfilling the following three primary homeland security missions:

Preventing terrorism and ensuring the security

Protecting the borders against illegal trade and immigrations

Cyber Crimes Section

Cyber Crimes Section is responsible for managing the cyber component of the immigration and customs investigations. It supervises the development and coordination of the investigations involving immigration and customs violations where internet is utilized to aid the criminal activities. The investigative responsibilities of CCS include:

Money laundering

Illegal export of goods

Drug trafficking

Illegal arms trafficking

Identify and benefit document fraud

Human smuggling

Financial Fraud

Commercial Fraud

Illegal trade of art, intellectual or cultural property

Hence, Cyber Crimes Section develops laws and regulations that strengthen the U.S. Cyber Security and carries out covert investigations through undercover law enforcement methodologies.

Child Exploitation Section

Child Exploitation Section is responsible for fighting the sexual exploitation of children and the production and distribution of child pornography. CES's sophisticated investigative techniques target the internet violators. CES utilizes the latest technology to gather the evidence and track the activities of individuals and organized groups who are involved in exploiting the children through emails, chat rooms, websites and file-sharing applications. Hence, CES coordinates with the law enforcement agencies in major investigations and assists the field offices in identifying the violators. Major initiatives of the Child Exploitation Section are:

Operation Predator for targeting the criminals involved in child pornography and child sex tourism

The National Child Victim Identification System for assisting the law enforcement agencies in identifying the victims of sexual exploitation

The Virtual Global Taskforce which is an alliance of international law enforcement agencies to fight the online child exploitation ("Cyber Crimes Center")

In addition, ICE has also partnered with foreign law enforcement agencies and NGO's to fight the violators at the global level.

The functions of these two sections contributes towards fulfilling the main objective of U.S. Immigration and Enforcement i.e. protection of the national security especially combating the criminal activities that are carried out through the use of internet. ICE follows the culture of professionalism as every person working in the agency adheres to the rules governing his job. The organization itself is very quick to adopt the innovative changes that can help in fulfilling its goal. The culture of ICE can also be considered a strong culture where the employees also respond to the stimulus because of their adherence to the organizational values. The individuals working in this organization seem to follow the values of integrity, respect, teamwork and dedication to their job. These values are in adherence to the values of the organization as a whole which contributes to the successful running of an organization. These values highly motivate the employees and respect each individual's contribution to the organization.

What was your role within the unit? If you received any training for your role, describe it. Then describe your responsibilities. Did they change during your co-op? With whom did you interact (both within and outside the organization), and how would you describe your interactions with them?

I was given the task of finding a person through the open sources like google.com and any other sites on the internet that are accessible with public information. There wasn't any significant training required for this job. I was just being explained everything in detail and then I was assigned to work. My main responsibility involved tracking a certain person with the help of the information that was given to me. My responsibilities remained same throughout most of the co-op. Since, it was the back office job I had most of the interaction with the employees working within the organization. But I also interacted with other sections within the ICE and also with other federal agencies such as Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Drug Enforcement Administration. I was very pleased by their work ethics and professional norms and my interaction with them was a learning experience for me as it exposed me to their extensive experience and professional guidance.

At the close of this paper, write a final section in which you draw some conclusions about your overall experience in this co-op. What went well? What went not so well (Was anything disappointing)? What was the most important thing that you learned about policing/the practice of law/security/probation/courts/investigation/human services? (Pick the category that applies. If none of these applies, substitute an appropriate one.) What was the most important thing that you learned about yourself during this co-op? Discuss whether and how this co-op experience contributed to your personal growth.

My overall experience in this co-op was a wide learning process for me. It gave me a chance to experience the real-world and the professional on-the-job working experience in the field of criminal justice. Overall, all the things went well for me but generally the transition from a student mentality to an employee mentality was not a smooth ride. Initially, I had to ask my supervisor again and again about the things which I didn't understand but then eventually I gained the confidence and started taking my own decisions. Through this experience, I have learned about my personal strengths as well as areas of weaknesses where I need to improve myself. I also learned about myself that I have more patience than I thought I would have as the government system is really slow and working through that system requires a lot of patience. I feel interacting with the co-workers and learning through their job functions and experiences benefits the pace of work. One important lesson I have learned is that one can save his valuable time by discovering beforehand whom to ask the right questions. Moreover, there was one time when I felt disappointed with the agency. The agency has a travel voucher program which gives the travelling passes. Although I applied for vouchers in April when I started my co-op, I didn't receive them due to the slow working of the government.

In my opinion, there was hardly any dull moment for me because I found myself working along with the investigative agents not as a student but as a part of the team. I was continuously motivated during my co-op and I always felt excited to go to work. The most important thing that I discovered about the investigation was that it requires extremely good interpersonal, people and legal skills. The job is very stressful at times and one needs a lot of patience to cope up with the slow and difficult situations.

My co-op experience contributed a great deal to my personal growth. This experience allowed me to improve my interpersonal skills and I learned how to work in the teams. The level of seriousness and the professionalism shown by the employees demonstrated to me how important the work ethics are. Moreover, after my co-op experience I experienced a personal change and adopted a mature and responsible approach towards career development as there was clarification of my career goals. (Wilson 56) Hence, the feedback through performance assessment and exposure to the practicing role models helped a lot in my self-development.

Journal Assignment 2:

Begin by identifying what you believe to be the three most important/significant tasks, assignments or projects on which you worked during your co-op.

Describe the task/assignment/project in detail.

Describe the knowledge or skills that you employed and explain how you executed the task. (If it was a group task or project, explain who was involved and how you worked together.)

Describe any products or outcomes of the task/assignment/project, and any feedback that you may have received on your performance. Finally, explain in what ways this task/assignment/project was important or significant for you

During my co-op, I was given the task of finding people through the open sources such as Google. For e.g. I was only given a city name, that the person may own four Mercedes and an online user name. With the help of this information, I was able to find the address of this person along with his place of work and the model of his Mercedes. As a criminal investigator, I was responsible for conducting investigations about individuals, businesses, criminal organizations and terrorist groups that seem suspicious and pose a threat to public safety and national security. The agency also has a Child Exploitation Tracking System (ICE-CETS) which is "a centralized information repository that assists law enforcement in conducting child exploitation investigations." ("Privacy Impact Assessment ICE-CETS" 2) This system is managed by the Cyber Crimes Section where I worked during my co-op. The database has investigative information related to the internet related child exploitation crimes and refers them to ICE agents for investigation. Hence, it is a tool that "facilitates the efficient use of investigative resources by ensuring related tips are identified and assigned for proper follow up." ("Privacy Impact Assessment ICE-CETS" 2) I was also responsible for writing the reports, analyses and the statistical summaries. Hence, I was engaged in planning and making analytical assignments and research reports in support of investigations on matters involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The majority of the analytical work produced will be utilized by the ICE in further development of the case which will be eventually presented to the U.S. Attorney's Office and in the trial proceedings. Hence, I was responsible for somehow providing the assistance to the government intelligence operations for the implementation of a criminal analysis program.

Similarly, my job also included providing the technical, administrative and clerical support to the investigation programs. It involved gathering of the data regarding the individual case assignments. I also assisted in carrying out the research of the cases and in assembling, tabulating and analyzing the information for agent's use in investigations as well as evidence in other various cases.

Conducting criminal and civil investigations need an expert level of planning, conflict-management and organizational skills. Moreover, in such tasks coordination between the different sections of an agency is also necessary. This job tested my analytical skills a lot as in order to investigate about a person or gather evidence; one had to be quick in his judgment and decision making and evaluate the cost and benefit of a certain action to select the most appropriate one. Moreover, one has to be an active listener as well. One has to give full attention to what people are saying. One should analyze the situation and ask questions when appropriate. Most importantly, one should also be clearly articulate his ideas and opinions and should completely absorb the points being made.

I had to employ my variety of skills for effective deliverance of the tasks. Firstly, I had to employ my legal skills as to work in one of these jobs; one must have an experience in the legal field and advanced education in the immigration law of the country. Secondly, I exercised my administrative skills that included ability to perform the day-to-day office duties, keeping the records, making relevant phone calls and delivering and collecting the paperwork. Hence, strong administrative skills were needed for the tasks. Thirdly, I had to utilize my technical skills especially when searching for an individual online. Moreover, it requires a vast technological knowledge to maintain a huge amount of databases that the agency uses to keep the track of the immigrants and to coordinate with other governmental agencies. Hence, the acquisition of information technology knowledge is extremely required for working in the immigration agency.

The findings of my investigations were finally sent to the ICE field office of a certain area which falls under its responsibility. Then the relevant field office further investigated the individual or an organization and then took the action. The final feedback on the outcomes of my findings has yet to be given. This is one of the examples of the slow working pace of the government departments. So, during my co-op I have learned to be patient and am waiting for the feedback.

These tasks were significant for me in a variety of ways. I had the feeling of doing very important work in service to the people and my nation. It was an interesting and challenging work with a flexible schedule. U.S. Customs and Enforcement agency gives good benefit to its employees and there is an incentive of reward for good job performance. These tasks will offer me career advancement opportunities if I choose to enter the federal government or work as a criminal investigator in the ICE. In this way, this could be a great start for my career in federal law enforcement agencies. There was also a diversity of work with variety of investigations so there was some level of freedom and an opportunity to shape an agency. The people working in the agency are extremely dedicated so I got a chance to learn a lot from them especially it polished my managerial skills a lot. Hence, these tasks gave me a sense of working for the benefit of my country and helping others.

Journal Assignment 3

Section 1: Begin by thinking about the courses that you have taken at Northeastern, and identify the one or two in which you learned things that were most relevant to what you observed or experienced during this co-op.

In the first section of the paper, identify the course(s) and be specific about how concepts, theories or ideas from the course(s) related to your co-op. Discuss two or three connections that you have been able to make between this prior coursework and things you observed or experienced on co-op.

Criminal Justice Research Methods

The course "Criminal Justice Research Methods" was most related to my co-op. This course introduced me to the basic concepts that are involved in conducting research in the domains of criminal justice system. The lectures, group discussion and the readings that I have undergone in this course have familiarized me with the scientific methods that are necessary for the systematic analysis of the crime trends. In this way, this course made me capable of conducting investigation, developing an idea, cultivating a research design and administering its implementation.

The two types of methodology that I learned in this course helped me a lot in conducting research into cases. The first was quantitative methodology that helped me dealing with the statistics, reports, and figures and spread sheets. The second was qualitative research methodology that helped in understanding why crimes are committed through interviews, research and profiling. Hence, while this course on criminal justice research methods introduced me to the theory and philosophy of social science inquiry with the focus on criminal justice, my co-op introduced me to the application of this inquiry in real life scenario. This course was really helpful to me as it not only widened my understanding of the ethical components related to research but also introduced me to the different research methodologies such as surveys and field research.

During this course, we also studied different hypothetical situations and were equipped with knowledge as how to address the problem in the given scenario. This also helped a lot in analyzing the tools that are actually needed to conduct the research. Hence, this demonstrated that how research is relevant to the field of criminal investigation.

Crime Prevention

Another course which was relevant to my co-op was on Crime Prevention. This gave me an overview about how to set up the crime prevention programs and how to maintain an effective program. Basically, this course focused on constructing the framework for thinking about the prevention of the crime at the individual, family and the local level. It also covered the challenges faced in implementing the crime prevention programs for the communities in a way that empowers the local residents and influences other protective factors. Moreover, I was able to understand the meaning of words "risk," "security" and "safety" more comprehensively. (Hughes, McLaughlin and Muncie 21)

The case studies studied during this course helped in giving an overview of the issues related to crime prevention both from criminology and criminal justice point-of-view. The topics such as situational crime prevention that is directed at reducing the opportunities for criminals to stop committing the crime helped in analyzing the ways in which the criminal organizations and illegal immigrants can be stopped before they pose any threat to the national security. My experience in co-op helped me in understanding the strong relationship between ideology, theory and practice. The analytic approach and the practical application of the situational and community crime prevention that I gained during this course helped me in analyzing discretely the crime situations, devising strategies for intervention and evaluating the crime preventive measures.

Through this course, I was able to gain the practical skills directed at assessing the strengths and weaknesses of different crime prevention programs and posing a specific prevention program to tackle the relevant crime problems. The intellectual skills gained through this course helped me in approaching the crime prevention programs during my co-op with an informed and critical perspective. Moreover, I was also able to explore the role of citizen's involvement and public and private service agencies including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in this regard. I evaluated the relationship between the crime prevention, communities and the nation state by looking at the diverse sites of conflict and comprise around the crime prevention policies. Hence, with the help of this course I developed the skills that were helpful for the evaluation of crime prevention initiatives. I was exposed to different methods of instruction directed at developing and improving the intellectual, practical and administrative abilities in crime prevention.

Computer Science

In this technology-dependent world, one is unlikely to gain any significant place without some proven interest or ability in the computing field. The course which I took on computer science helped me gain a firm problem solving and analytical skills and trained me for academic research. With the help of this course, I was introduced to the different patterns of thinking that enabled me to learn the use of software tools in a problem solving setting. I was able to explore the different important software applications that helped me in developing the skills that are necessary to use computer effectively in my field.

During my co-op, I was able to utilize my knowledge of different programs learned during this course such as MS Excel, MS Word, MS Access and MS Power Point. My experience with spreadsheets, database management and programming helped me using the computer as effective problem solving tool. My already wide exposure to the internet and the World Wide Web assisted me in my researches during my co-op. As I worked in the Cyber Crime Section which uses advance technologies to track the activities of the individuals and delivers computer-based technical services to ICE, my knowledge of computers was extremely beneficial to me. Hence, this course introduced me to the wide variety of software and hardware technologies and their applications. It equipped me with the basic understanding and practical and research skills that are needed in the profession of an investigator. Moreover, this course helped me deal with the necessary technological components that were required in my work.

Section 2: In the second section of the paper, think about the knowledge or skills that you learned in your co-op.

How can this learning be applied at Northeastern? (Perhaps it will influence your selection of future courses, your approach to studying, to class participation, to working on group projects, etc.)

Also, has this co-op shaped your thinking about your future career? If so, how?

I have learned a lot during my co-op experience, but I am still inspired to learn more. I am very happy to go back to Northeastern with my co-op experience as now I feel I have a new mentality of work ethic and skills that I want to advance further. I have now learned how to prioritize my time and handle my work under pressure. The biggest advantage of my co-op was that I felt that it organized my life and taught me to be disciplined. Now if I will apply these assets to my studies at Northeastern, then my grades will surely going to go up and my co-op will revolutionize my entire academic life.

With my co-op experience, I have been able to apply practically what I have learned in my classes at Northeastern. Now I will grasp things more concretely when I can take this practical knowledge back to my classes and correlate it with the classroom theories. It has also helped me to foster and develop professional skills like communication, presentation and report-writing skills. This will help me in my class participation and presentations. Moreover, I have also learned to be an active listener and have gained networking skills. This will surely help me in facilitating the group projects better than I did in the past.

Hence, this co-op has helped me in understanding what a day in the agency is like by giving me a professional experience. It has helped me to decide that I want to develop my career in the same field of criminal justice. I have seen life as an ICE agent can be really stressful with a great deal of traveling involved but at the same time career as Homeland Security Investigation Agent can be personally as well as financially rewarding. While on one hand you earn competitive salaries on the other hand you have this feeling of working to keep the borders of United States safe for its citizens. Moreover, this co-op will also help me in gaining the jobs in the future. I have made some good contacts in the agency and have shown great quality of work so it will be beneficial for me as I move ahead with my career goals. Now after graduating I don't have to wonder what I want to do like other graduates as I already have the taste of what I like to do and what I don't like to do. I have better sense of what I want and who I want to be after my co-op experience.

Appendix A:

(U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)