Among many types of investigations, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) addresses crimes perpetrated by people who are in the US illegally. The population of illegal immigrants in Colorado decreased substantially from 2007 to 2010. Estimates place the 2010 levels of unauthorized residents in the state to be 180,000 — a drop of 65,000 in three years.
Special agents from ICE also address other types of criminal activity in Colorado. With its extensive interstate highway system and its location between major drug sources in Canada and Mexico, Colorado is an active place for international drug traffickers.
Mexican drug traffickers in particular also take advantage of existing criminal distribution outlets and partner with street, prison gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs to distribute drugs. This contributes to the levels of crime in Colorado. ICE agents act to break up such conspiracies.
Degrees Required for ICE Agent Careers in Colorado
Many applicants for ICE criminal investigator jobs have previous experience in law enforcement or investigating crimes. This can help to meet the stringent education requirements that must be met in order to apply for these types of positions.
Applicants who do not have such experience are required to have either a year of graduate level education or to have attained a bachelor’s degree with one of the following marks of distinction:
- A GPA of either a B (for all courses) or a B+ for courses in their major
- This can be for either the final two years or for all of the courses taken.
- Election to a national honor’s society
- A rank in the top third of their class
Additional requirements to apply for ICE jobs include being a US citizen and being younger than 37. The latter requirement can be waived for those who are veterans. Applicants can apply for positions with ICE when they are posted on the federal website for US government jobs.
ICE rigorously screens its applicants and conducts a full background check on them. Once hired, recruits are sent to the Federal Law Enforcement Center (FELC) in Georgia to learn how to become an ICE agent through 22 weeks of paid training. Prospective agents have academic coursework in addition to rigorous physical conditioning and firearms training.
Residents of Colorado who seek to become ICE special agents can learn more about the process by contacting the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) for Colorado who is located in Denver. The phone number for the Denver SAC is 303-721-3000.
Recent ICE Operations in Colorado
ICE agent careers in Colorado include working with other federal and local law enforcement agencies to disrupt criminal conspiracies in the state.
Fighting Drug Traffickers – Seventeen of Colorado’s counties are part of the Rocky Mountain HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area). Although the availability of cocaine is predicted to continue its decline in this region, ice methamphetamine and heroin are expected to become more widely available.
The levels of marijuana cultivation in Colorado had been dramatically increasing in recent years. It remains to be seen whether the legalization of marijuana in 2014 will put a dent in illegal marijuana cultivation in Colorado.
ICE agents participated in the multi-agency Denver Metro Gang Task Force sweep of drug traffickers in April 2013. They arrested 33 people throughout the Front Range. In November 2013, ICE agents arrested a Mexican foreign national in Denver for planning to distribute over 50 kilograms of marijuana.
Stopping Child Pornographers – ICE continues its pioneering efforts to identify US citizens involved in downloading or distributing child pornography and bring them to justice. Cases in September 2013 alone included the following:
- The sentencing of a Colorado man to almost 20 years in federal prison for producing child pornography
- The sentencing of a former preschool teacher to eight years in prison for distributing child pornography.