ICE Explains Agency Changes/Provides Contact Points to Press

Press Contact Sheet
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

A Primer for Reporters: Agencies That No Longer Exist

Although some reporters continue to use the following agency names in their stories, as of March 1, 2003, with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the following agencies no longer exist:

• Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), formerly of the U.S. Department of Justice
• U.S. Customs Service, formerly of the U.S. Treasury Department

New additions to ICE from other agencies include:

• The Federal Protective Service, formerly under the General Services Agency (GSA)
• The Federal Air Marshals (FAMS) formerly under the Transportation and Security Agency (TSA)

New Agencies That Have Absorbed Responsibilities of Now Defunct Agencies

The functions of the above-mentioned agencies, which no longer exist, or have been absorbed, now fall into U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) www.ice.gov.

ICE, led by Assistant Secretary Michael J. Garcia, is the second largest investigative agency in the federal government.  Backed by a formidable array of investigative powers and legal authorities, ICE investigates a broad range of criminal activities, from financial crime and illegal arms sales to immigration fraud, drug smuggling, human trafficking, and child predators. 

Strong investigative and intelligence capabilities, integrated with the assets of the Federal Protective Service and ICE Federal Air Marshals, and the ICE air and marine wing, make ICE uniquely equipped to take on the complex criminal enterprises that undermine the security of the United States.  Its authorities further extend to the detention and removal of criminal and other deportable aliens. 

Does ICE have a list of Press Contact Points?

If you would like to inquire about ICE activities, book a subject expert for your show; or conduct an interview with an ICE expert, please contact one of the following individuals:

Acting Director of Public Affairs Dean Boyd
202-616-6907

As Acting Director of the Office of Public Affairs (OPA), Mr. Boyd manages a staff of communications specialists who provide a full range of products and services to ICE's external and internal audiences here and abroad.  In his previous position as Press Secretary for ICE, he both managed the daily media operations and served as the lead press officer on a variety of ICE law enforcement matters.  He has been actively involved in the agency's financial investigation programs, with its lynchpin Cornerstone initiative, which is unique within federal government annals.  This program aims to eliminate security gaps in the United States' financial infrastructure that could be exploited by individuals, criminal organizations and/or terrorists. He also has taken the press lead on illegal arms and weapons experts; air and marine operations; child predators, sex offenders and cybernet pornography; and national security issues, such as those related to ICE's Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Prior to joining ICE OPA, Mr. Boyd served as a senior public affairs specialist at U.S. Customs Service, where he focused on anti-drug issues.  

Public Affairs Officer Garrison Courtney
202-307-3200

Mr. Courtney, formerly with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), is the primary POC for all immigration enforcement and detention-and-removal issues relating to ICE.  Immigration enforcement deals with a broad range of activities from the deportation of more than 100,000 aliens a year to human trafficking issues along the southern border.  His expertise deals also with the SEVIS, NSEERS and US-VISIT systems. Mr. Courtney is also the primary press point of contact for the Federal Protective Service (FPS) which conducts security at all federal properties as well as maintains three mega centers; have weapons of mass destruction teams and employ canine teams in certain federal areas.  He previously was a television anchor and reporter with several affiliates of one of the major television networks.

Public Affairs Officer Marc Raimondi
202-307-3550

Mr. Raimondi is POC for all matters related to the investigation of financial crimes, which has as its key program Operation Cornerstone.  This initiative targets money laundering and related activities.  He also supports ICE's National Security Unit, routinely deals with terrorism, money laundering-, and other national security issues, including terror financing and weapons exporting.  Mr. Raimondi also acts as the POC for ICE's Air and Marine Division, which maintains an impressive 135 aircraft, from Black Hawk helicopters to P-3 aircraft that maintain watch along U.S. borders for illicit activities and potential threats to national security.  ICE's AMO also protects America's waterways by employing "go-fast" boats to prevent or intercept drug and human-smuggling operations. He joined ICE OPA from the United States Army, Chief Investigative Division.

Public Affairs Officer Dave Adams
202-305-0843

Mr. Adams, a retired Secret Service officer and former member of the INS, is ICE as the primary POC for all matters related to the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) and all issues that pertain to it he FAMS provide an expert, rapidly deployable, national-level resource to conduct all aspects of transportation explosives security; Weapons of Mass Destruction Program Management, post-blast investigations where a bombing is suspected; Least Risk Bomb Location assistance to pilots with suspected IEDs in flight; and explosives security surveys and other technical explosives assistance. Missions are performed for both U.S. and foreign governments. Mr. Adams also is the primary point of contact for the FAMS ICE Explosives Unit, which was originally established   in 1970 to deal with aircraft bombings that emerged as a new form of terrorism.