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2018 SPECIAL SESSION I

18200252D
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 641
Offered May 29, 2018
Commending U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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Patrons-- Gilbert, Cole, Hugo and Poindexter
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WHEREAS, for 15 years, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal law-enforcement agency under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security, has diligently served and safeguarded the nation by identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security; and

WHEREAS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) traces the roots of its history to the former United States Customs Service, which was founded in 1789, and the Inspections Program of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), which served as the nation’s primary immigration and border control agency from 1933 to 2003; and

WHEREAS, ICE was formed on March 1, 2003, assuming the investigative, deportation, and intelligence functions of the INS to become the second-largest federal criminal investigative agency in the United States; and

WHEREAS, ICE is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and employs more than 20,000 people, with more than 400 offices throughout the United States and dozens of foreign countries, including multiple offices in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, enforcing a broad array of federal statutes, ICE comprises three operational directorates—Homeland Security Investigations, Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor—as well as several support divisions; and

WHEREAS, ICE plays a critical role in the defense and stability of the nation by investigating cross-border criminal activity, including human trafficking; narcotics, weapons, and cash smuggling; violent transnational gang activity; immigration document and benefit fraud; export enforcement; and international art and antiquity theft; and

WHEREAS, created during the information age, ICE also has a robust cybersecurity division that utilizes cutting-edge technology to combat Internet-related crimes that can have far-reaching consequences such as the exploitation of adults and children, intellectual property theft, and international money laundering; and

WHEREAS, ICE strives to prevent international terrorist organizations from exploiting the nation’s immigration, financial, and transportation systems and actively coordinates with other local, state, and federal agencies as the second-largest contributor to the Joint Terrorism Task Force; and

WHEREAS, for more than a decade, the men and women of ICE have served and sacrificed to effectively address a range of issues that threaten national security and keep communities throughout the Commonwealth and the United States safe; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hereby be commended for its 15 years of service to the United States; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as an expression of the House of Delegates’ admiration for the agency’s commitment to upholding the nation’s laws and protecting the American people from transnational threats.