Chicago, Illinois - Representatives from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) joined one of the largest gatherings of law enforcement professionals of the year - the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Annual Conference and Exposition - held October 24 to 27 in Chicago, Illinois. ICE connected with its partners from local, state, county, tribal and other federal agencies at the conference and held several outreach, training and collaborative events.
ICE was also among the 699 agencies and organizations that had a booth, and showcased its programs and initiatives in a multi-media format. For example, an ICE promotional video provided a broad overview of how ICE fulfills its mission to promote homeland security and protect the public through civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.
The HSI Cyber Crimes Center (C3), located in Fairfax, Virginia, which recently underwent a major renovation and expansion designed to enhance its operational and training capabilities, was widely featured at the exhibit.
The ICE Operation Predator App was also featured. The app, which has undergone a third phase of development, and is now iPad and tablet optimized, enables users to receive alerts about wanted predators and share the information with friends via email and social media tools as well as to provide information to HSI by calling or submitting an online tip. Additionally, the app allows users to view news about arrests and prosecutions of child predators and additional resources about ICE and its global partners in the fight against child exploitation.
The exhibit also highlighted other ICE programs and initiatives designed to combat child sexual exploitation, including the agency’s Victim Identification Program, iGuardian and the Human Exploitation Rescue Operative (HERO) Child Rescue Corps Program.
One of the first graduates of the HERO Program, Computer Forensics Analyst from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans William Shannon Krieger, a U.S. veteran, who transitioned from warrior on the battlefield to warrior against child sexual exploitation, was on hand to provide information and answer questions.
ICE’s work in financial crimes was also featured, specifically the agency’s initiatives involving virtual currency, which is sometimes exploited for the purposes of money laundering, the facilitation and financing of terrorism and enabling other crimes, such as a child pornography, drug trafficking and cybercrimes.
In addition to the exhibit, ICE participated in an inaugural ICE/IACP State and Local Symposium Oct. 22 in advance of the IACP Conference and Exposition. During the symposium a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between ICE and IACP. The MOU enables ICE to assign an HSI special agent to the IACP for one year, to provide HSI support to critical IACP policy work and on state and local law enforcement engagement.
