Located on the I-5 corridor stretching between Canada and Mexico, Oregon is a crossroads for criminals smuggling everything from drugs and weapons, to people. That is where the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement comes into play. ICE Agents are responsible for taking Oregon’s federal criminals off the streets, while gathering enough quality evidence to ensure convictions. ICE Criminal Investigators in Oregon are often involved in cases dealing with:
- Child exploitation and pornography
- Illegal immigration
- Drug trafficking
- National and international financial crimes
ICE Agent Job Qualifications
US citizens who are interested in learning how to become ICE Agents can start by reviewing the education requirements. To join the ranks of ICE as a Criminal Investigator, candidates will need to either have a bachelor degree and a year of master’s-level education or simply a bachelor degree with one of the following merits:
- Membership in a national honors society above the freshmen level
- 3.0 GPA cumulatively or in the final two years of study
- 3.5 GPA in the candidate’s major area of study
- Be in the top third of their graduating class or major
The one-year requirement for experience can be fulfilled simultaneously with the education requirement. Common areas of study for ICE criminal investigators include:
- Criminal Justice
- Law
- Crime Scene Investigation
- Criminal and Civil Investigations
- Police Science
- Law Enforcement
The Application and Training Process
Training for ICE careers involves 22 weeks spent at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, after which time new ICE Agents will be ready for their first assignment. Vacancies for open ICE jobs in Oregon are posted on the federal government’s USA Jobs website, and to be eligible to apply for these requires having the following:
- Driver’s license
- No felony convictions
- Being between the ages of 21-37 unless a federal law enforcement officer or eligible veteran
- The right to carry, and ability to maintain, a firearm
ICE Agents often work in collaboration with local law enforcement agencies, and in Oregon this includes conducting joint training exercises with:
- Portland Police Department
- Eugene Police Department
- Oregon State Police Criminal Investigation Division
- Salem Police Department
ICE Agents at Work in Oregon: Operation Log
There is no such thing as a typical ICE operation in Oregon, however operations are conducted against the typical culprits of drug trafficking and child abuse. Anti-drug trafficking operations are targeted at the bigger pieces in the puzzle, such as the recent Operation Liquid Dragon which had the result of disrupting the Oregon trafficking route of a key ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine to members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico. In another recent case Portland-based ICE Agents disrupted a major supply chain of the new designer drug known as Spice or K2, indicting four suspects and discovering hundreds of pounds of drug components.
In the past year alone ICE Criminal Investigators working in Oregon have also made dozens of arrests on charges relating to child pornography and exploitation. A recent example involved a Seattle hospital employee who traveled to Portland after corresponding with who he thought was the father of two young boys, to engage in illegal sexual activity. He was arrested in the motel lobby where he was scheduled to meet the supposed father, who turned out to be ICE Homeland Security Investigations Agents. The suspect was found to be in possession of a bag of candy and coloring books.