ICE Agents in Ohio are highly trained and educated individuals who participate in some of the state’s most dramatic missions. ICE Criminal Investigators are best known for conducting raids targeting illegal immigration, with a recent Columbus operation netting 137 criminal aliens. However another major component of ICE activity involves undercover ops, which was demonstrated in two recent operations. The first took 60 suspects off the streets on drug and weapons smuggling charges, and the other captured four suspects on charges of child sex tourism. In Ohio, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement also maintains four immigration detention facilities, listed here with a recent average prisoner count:
- Bedford Heights City Jail: 68
- Butler County Correctional Complex: 124
- Morrow County Correctional Facility: 48
- Seneca County Jail: 120
The Education Requirement for ICE Jobs in Ohio
When researching how to become an ICE Agent, one of the first things to consider is the education requirement. Anyone applying for ICE jobs in Ohio will need to have either a bachelor degree with one year of master’s-level courses or a bachelor degree plus one of the following:
- Membership in a national honors society at a level above freshmen
- Graduating in the top third of a class or field
- 3.0 GPA total or in the last two years of study
- 3.5 GPA in major field of study
Completing a school program in any of the following will additionally help candidates to meet the experience requirement, which mandates at least a year of experience in any of these fields:
- Criminal Justice
- Criminal Investigation
- Crime Scene Investigation
- Police Science
- Criminal and Civil Law
ICE Agent Training
Training for ICE Agent careers starts in Brunswick, Georgia where new agents must complete 22 weeks of intensive instruction on the basics of their new profession. After graduation, freshmen ICE Criminal Investigators will be ready to take on their first assignment. However before beginning their training, prospective agents will need to meet a few other basic requirements before hire, including:
- Being a US Citizen with no felony convictions
- Having a valid driver’s license
- Proficiently able to carry and operate a firearm
- Be between the ages of 21-37 if not a qualifying veteran or federal law enforcement officer
Training will include strategies in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies. In Ohio this includes:
- Columbus Police Department
- Cleveland Police Department
- Franklin County Special Investigations Unit
- Cincinnati Police Department
- Ohio Investigative Unit
- Toledo Police Department
ICE Agents at Work in Ohio
ICE jobs in Ohio are focused around all aspects of organized crime that crosses federal law. Recently 201 suspects were either arrested or indicted in the following three cases, which exemplify the duties performed by ICE Agents:
- In a recent sting operation, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations worked with local authorities in Mansfield to secure 60 indictments against suspects on charges related to drugs and firearms, with a total of 121 charges. The operation recovered 70 firearms, over 1,000 Oxycodone pills, and 768 grams of crack-cocaine, among other evidence.
- In another undercover sting operation, three foreign nationals and one US citizen were lured to Cleveland for what they believed to be the chance to engage in illicit and illegal activities with minors. However they had actually been corresponding with undercover ICE HSI Agents who arrested the suspects upon arrival, one of whom was a doctor carrying stuffed animals and the sedative Midazolam.
- ICE Agents recently made a sweep of the metro areas of Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati in an operation that targeted criminals and fugitives with an illegal immigration status. 137 arrests were made by ICE Fugitive Operation Teams, in an effort that highlights one of the agency’s top priorities: removing criminal aliens.