U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from cross-border crime and undocumented immigration that threaten national security and public safety.
The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and is responsible for securing the borders of the United States. According to its website as of 2022,its mission is to "Protect the American people,safeguard our borders,and enhance the nation’s economic prosperity."
The Mexico–United States border wall is a series of vertical barriers along the Mexico–United States border intended to reduce illegal immigration to the United States from Mexico. The barrier is not a continuous structure but a series of obstructions variously classified as "fences" or "walls".
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization,charged with regulating and facilitating international trade,collecting import duties,as well as enforcing U.S. regulations,including trade,customs and immigration. CBP is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the United States. It has a workforce of more than 45,600 federal agents and officers. It is headquartered in Washington,D.C.
David V. Aguilar is the former Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In this position,he oversaw more than 43,000 Federal Agents and Officers. As the nation's highest ranking Border Patrol Agent,Aguilar managed the nation's border control policing. Aguilar retired on February 8,2013.
Mark A. Morgan is an American law enforcement official who served as the Chief Operating Officer and acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection from July 5,2019,to January 20,2021.
Michael J. Fisher served as Chief of the United States Border Patrol and was a member of the Senior Executive Service from 2010 to 2015.
Ronald Donato Vitiello is an American government official and former U.S. Border patrol agent who served as deputy director and acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from June 30,2018 to April 12,2019. He previously served as acting deputy commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 2017 to 2018 and chief of the United States Border Patrol in 2017. In 2018,U.S. president Donald Trump awarded Vitiello a Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executive in the Senior Executive Service.
Kevin Kealoha McAleenan is an American attorney and government official who unlawfully served as the acting United States secretary of homeland security from April to November 2019.
Randolph D. "Tex" Alles is an American law enforcement officer and government official who currently serves as the Deputy Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management and the de facto head of the DHS Management Directorate,under the various titles of both Acting Under Secretary and Senior Official Performing the Duties of Under Secretary. He also served as the 25th Director of the United States Secret Service from April 2017 to May 2019,and previously as the acting deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection,as well as in the United States Marine Corps,in which he reached the rank of major general.
Kirstjen Michele Nielsen is an American attorney who served as United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019. She is a former principal White House deputy chief of staff to President Donald Trump,and was chief of staff to John F. Kelly during his tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security.
The family separation policy under the first Trump administration was a controversial immigration enforcement strategy implemented in the United States from 2017 to 2018,aimed at deterring illegal immigration by separating migrant children from their parents or guardians. The policy,presented to the public as a "zero tolerance" approach,was intended to encourage tougher legislation and discourage unauthorized crossings. In some cases,families following the legal procedure to apply for asylum at official border crossings were also separated. Under the policy,federal authorities separated children and infants from parents or guardians with whom they had entered the US. The adults were prosecuted and held in federal jails or deported,and the children were placed under the supervision of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Prior to their transfer to HHS,some children spent three weeks or more in overcrowded border control centers,where they reported minimal food,no access to clean clothes or bathing facilities,and no adult caretakers;girls as young as ten were taking care of younger children.
Family detention is the detention of multiple family members together in an immigration detention context. In the U.S. they are referred to as family detention camps,family detention centers, or family detention facilities.
Unaccompanied Alien Children is a United States government classification for children in immigration custody and the name of a program operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement to house and care for them. The term designates unaccompanied minors who are aliens,typically those who have been apprehended outside of a legal port of entry or judged inadmissible upon their entry.
The Trump administration has detained migrants attempting to enter the United States at the United States–Mexico border. Government reports from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General in May 2019 and July 2019 found that migrants had been detained under conditions that failed federal standards. These conditions have included prolonged detention,overcrowding,and poor hygiene and food standards.
Rogelio Martinez was an agent of the United States Border Patrol who died in the line of duty on November 19,2017,in Culberson County,Texas. His cause of death remains unsolved despite a four-month investigation by the FBI.
John P. Sanders is an American technologist and business executive,who is the former Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Rodney S. Scott served as the 24th Chief of the United States Border Patrol from January 24,2020 to August 14,2021 in both the Trump and Biden administrations.
In September 2021,an incident occurred involving migrants from Haiti crossing into the United States at the Del Rio,Texas,sector of the Mexico–US border. President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris claimed the migrants were being whipped by horse-mounted US Border Patrol agents. In July 2022,the US Customs and Border Protection concluded after an investigation that no migrants in fact had been whipped.
