Law Enforcement Organization, Essay Example

Law Enforcement Organizations – ICE and Secret Service

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Homeland Security.  The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is accountable for identifying, investigating and deporting individuals who are considered to be illegal within the United States.  United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is responsible for the investigation and enforcement of over 400 federal locations within the United States.  “Although most of these aliens are entering the United States for economic opportunities or fleeing civil strife and political unrest, some are criminals, and some may be terrorists.  All are violating the immigration laws of the United States (Isenburg 2007).”  Also, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is responsible for the transportation and communications between countries when deporting immigrants.  As well as, protecting the nation’s border from illegal immigrants arriving to the United States.

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is composed of four law enforcement divisions and various divisions.  These support divisions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement provide investigation and protection for the public and any additional law enforcement associates.  A significant division of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the Homeland Security Investigation (HIS).  HSI investigates immigration crime, human rights violations and human smuggling, smuggling of narcotics, weapons and other types of contraband, financial crimes, cybercrime and export enforcement issues. ICE special agents conduct investigations aimed at protecting critical infrastructure industries that are vulnerable to sabotage, attack or exploitation (U.S Department of Homeland Security 2011).

The Homeland Security Investigation is a critical quality within the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  The Homeland Security program is responsible for a several domestic and international affairs.  The next division of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which is responsible for ensuring proper transportation for the departure of illegal immigrants.  The Enforcement and Removal Operations is responsible for the process of apprehending and removing aliens out of the country.

The United States Secret Service “is mandated by statue and executive order to carry out two significant missions: protection and criminal investigations (Holden 2009).” As one of the nation’s oldest general law enforcement agencies, the Secret Service has maintained a reputation of highly trained “executive-protection teams in the world (Holden 2009).” A significant responsibility that the Secret Service is accountable for is guarding the life of the president of the United States. Therefore, the Secret Service only selects the most qualified and educated individuals for training.

The United States Secret Service organization is composed of various departments.  However, a significant department that assists in protection duties is known as the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division (UD).

With more than 1,300 officers today, the Uniformed Division is responsible for security at the White House Complex; the vice president’s residence; the Department of the Treasury (as part of the White House Complex); and foreign diplomatic missions in the Washington, D.C., area. Uniformed Division officers carry out their protective responsibilities through a network of fixed security posts, foot, bicycle, vehicular and motorcycle patrols (United States Secret Service 2010).

The Uniformed Division is divided in smaller dissections, each responsible for significant tasks within their division.  As an example, the Countersniper Support Unit (CS) are “highly trained rifle sharpshooters who assist in providing a secure environment for the president and other protectees (Holden 2009).”  They are trained with specifically designed rifles providing protection against any threats to Secret Service protectees.  Another division within the Uniformed Division is the Canine Explosive Detection Unit, also known as K-9.  The K-9 unit provides skillful and expert detection specialists that “will respond to bomb threats and suspicious packages, sweep areas to be visited by the protectees, and be on hand for other situations where explosive detection may be necessary (Holden 2009).”  The Emergency Response Team (ERT), also another division within the Uniformed Division, provides immediate and synchronized tactics in any emergency situation.

In essence, the a significant difference between the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the United States Secret Service is the organizational hierarchy. The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement are divided in specific divisions that provide individuals with a detailed responsibility.  Once the division has completed the required responsibilities for the individual, the individual is than transported to another division that will continue the process.  Therefore, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is divided like an assembly line, once one portion is done, the object moves to another section. However, the United States Secret Service is organized in a different method than the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  Basically, the United States Secret Service has many divisions that protect the individual.  The protectee can have more than one division of the Secret Service protecting him/her.  Whereas, an alien is constantly transferring from one division of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to another.  The difference between these organizational structures of these law enforcements is that the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is divided

References

Holden, Henry. (2009).  To Be A U.S Secret Service Agent. Zenith Press. New York

U.S Dept of Homeland Security. (2011). ICE Homeland Security Investigations. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Retrieved on 24 November 2011. <http://www.ice.gov/about/offices/homeland-security-investigations/>.

Isenburg, Bruno, T. (2007). Immigration Enforcement and Policies.  Nova Science Publishers. Chicago.

United States Secret Service. (2010). Uniformed Division.  United States Secret Service. Retrieved on 24 November 2011. <http://www.secretservice.gov/whoweare_ud.shtml>.