AUSTIN – Texas Observer reporter Jason Buch has obtained a letter signed by 19 special agents in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, asking Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen to split off HSI to avoid confusion with Enforcement and Removal Operations, or ERO.
Both agencies are part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
ICE had no official comment, but Buch said the idea would be similar to the FBI and DEA under the U.S. Justice Department, with each having different leadership and missions.
The letter describes the perception that HSI has the same mission as ERO, which oversees rounding up undocumented immigrants for deportation.
HSI is the criminal investigations arm of ICE.
Buch said some law enforcement agencies either don’t want to work with HSI or they want “to minimize ICE’s involvement in the joint operations.”
He said he learned those agencies are feeling pressure from elected officials who must answer to their communities, including many people who don’t agree with stepped-up enforcement by ICE.
Read the letter by clicking here.