Contrary to what one might expect in the vast expanses and canyon country of Wyoming, ICE Agents see plenty of action in the state. In fact, ICE Criminal Investigators had one of their more memorable seizures from a Jackson store specializing in fossils. What started as a tip to an ICE Agent in Casper ended in the arrest of a dinosaur fossil smuggler and the seizure of, among other skeletons and bones, a velociraptor and tyrannosaurus, all together worth more than $2.45 million.
ICE Agents in Wyoming investigate just about every imaginable case having to do with federal immigration and customs violations. ICE jobs in Wyoming more typically involve dealing with child pornography and drug investigations.
Those who would like to know more about how to become an ICE Agent in Wyoming are encouraged to research the application requirements described below.
Education and Experience Requirements to Become an ICE Agent
US citizens with a valid driver’s license and no felony convictions will need to meet both an education and experience requirement to be eligible to pursue ICE careers. The education requirement stipulates having a bachelor’s degree in any area of study, along with either one of the following:
- A year of postgraduate study
- One distinction to include:
- 3.5 GPA in major course of study
- Graduating in the top one-third of the class or school program
- 3.0 GPA cumulatively or in the final two years
- Membership in an upper-level national honors society
The experience requirement entails a year’s work in the fields of law enforcement and criminal investigations. Students can accomplish both during their bachelor program if they pursue a major in:
- Law Enforcement
- Criminal Justice
- Forensic Science
- Crime Scene Investigation
- Police Science
- Criminal Law
Candidates must also meet an age requirement, being between the ages of 21-37 with some exceptions for federal law enforcement officers and eligible veterans.
Application and Training
Once candidates meet these minimum requirements for ICE Criminal Investigator positions they will be ready to search for openings on the federal government’s USA Jobs website. If applicants are chosen, their first task will be to complete 22 weeks of intensive ICE training in Brunswick, Georgia, where they will learn essential skills:
- Firearms training
- Investigative techniques
- Running an undercover operation
- Suspect pursuit and arrest
- Law and the criminal justice system
- Documentation and report writing
- Chain of command
ICE at Work in Wyoming
When they are not tracking down smuggled dinosaur fossils, ICE Agents in Wyoming are more likely to be engaging in some of their more usual tasks like drug trafficking interdiction and missions targeted against child pornographers.
Recently ICE teamed up with local law enforcement agencies around Jackson to arrest nine suspects as part of a crackdown on the distribution of local narcotics. ICE was involved because several of those arrested were foreign-born aliens who were also facing charges relating to immigration violations. In a separate case out of Cheyenne, a man was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison as a result of an ICE investigation which revealed he was trying to take advantage of an underage girl by blackmailing her with photos he had convinced her to send him. ICE Criminal Investigators became involved when she reported the blackmail attempt to the local police.