The mission of the Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) is to protect the United States and its people by providing timely, accurate information and assistance to the federal, state and local law enforcement community—365 days a year, 24 hours a day.The Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC), administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is a critical point of contact for the national law enforcement community, providing a wide range of informational services to officers and investigators at the local, state and federal levels.
The primary users of the LESC are state and local law enforcement officers in the field who need information about foreign nationals they encounter in the course of their daily duties.
The LESC, located in Williston, Vermont, operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to provide timely and accurate information to law enforcement officers on the immigration status and identity of individuals who have been arrested or are under investigation for criminal activity.
As the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE has made information-sharing partnerships with other law enforcement entities a key strategy in the agency's homeland security mission. The LESC is the centerpiece of this information-sharing effort.
Established in 1994, the LESC has evolved into a national center for supporting law enforcement operations and investigations.
LESC technicians have ready access to a wide range of databases and intelligence sources, including the following:
ICE Immigration Databases
National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
Interstate Identification Index (III)
Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)
U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) system
National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS)
In addition, the LESC analyzes and disseminates information received from the public about suspicious or criminal activity. Information obtained from the public via ICE's toll-free tip hotline—1-866-DHS-2-ICE—is analyzed by the professional law enforcement staff at the LESC and quickly forwarded to ICE field units for investigation or other action.
LESC information and support services also include the following:
Responding to queries from local, state and federal correctional and court systems on immigration status of individuals in custody.
Responding to FBI requests for criminal background and immigration status checks on individuals seeking to purchase firearms in the United States (as authorized by the Brady Act).
Responding to U.S. Secret Service requests for criminal background and immigration status checks on individuals visiting the White House.
Responding to queries related to employment issues at sites that could be vulnerable to sabotage, attack or exploitation—including airports, defense contractors and installations, chemical factories, petroleum refineries, and other critical infrastructure sites.
Electronic access to the LESC is available in all 50 states via the Immigration Alien Query (IAQ) screen on the National Law Enforcement Telecommunication System. Automated responses are returned to the requesting ORI address. A total of 594,352 queries were processed in FY 2003.
For information on how to access the Law Enforcement Support Center via NLETS please direct inquiries to:
LESC Computer Services Division 188 Harvest Lane Williston, Vermont 05495 802-872-6050
or via the NLETS Administrative Message (AM) to VTINS07S0
In order to be best served by this system the ideal protocol would be wireless broadband laptop in the patrol cars with internet access over a secured network if available. Electronic access to the LESC is available via the Immigration Alien Query (IAQ) screen on the National Law Enforcement Telecommunication System web site. Automated responses are returned to the requesting ORI address in the car.
The secondary access scenario would be to call in to the dispatch center and have them access the internet site or call in to the ICE communications center at 802-872-6020.
Enforcement and training funding is available through the Department of Homeland Security and the State
The state shall allocate funding to establish and implement a law enforcement training project to assess the feasibility of establishing a statewide e-learning training course covering basic immigration law enforcement issues to be used by State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers in order to improve and enhance their ability, during their routine course of duties.
State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers can assist Local and Federal immigration officers at the Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the enforcement of Local and Federal immigration employment laws if requested to do so.
The Department of Homeland Security shall reimburse States and localities for all reasonable expenses, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, incurred by a State or locality in the incarceration and transportation of an illegal alien.
Compensation provided for costs incurred under such subparagraphs shall be the average cost of incarceration of a prisoner in the State, as determined by the chief executive officer of a State (or, as appropriate, a political subdivision of the State) plus the cost of transporting the criminal or illegal alien from the point of apprehension, to the place of detention, and to the custody transfer point if the place of detention and place of custody are different.
State and local law enforcement officials have the general power to investigate and arrest violators of federal immigration statutes without prior ICE knowledge or approval, as long as they are authorized to do so by state law. There is “no extant federal limitation” on this authority. The 1996 immigration control legislation passed by Congress was intended to encourage states and local agencies to participate in the process of enforcing federal immigration laws.1
Immigration officers and local law enforcement officers may detain an individual for a brief warrantless interrogation where circumstances create a reasonable suspicion that the individual is illegally present in the U.S. Specific facts constituting a reasonable suspicion include evasive, nervous or erratic behavior, dress or speech indicating foreign citizenship, and presence in an area known to contain a concentration of illegal aliens. Hispanic appearance alone is not sufficient.6 Immigration officers and police must have a valid warrant or valid employer’s consent to enter work places or residences.2
Any vehicle used to transport or harbor illegal aliens, or as a substantial part of an activity that encourages illegal aliens to come to or reside in the U.S. may be seized by an immigration officer and is subject to forfeiture. The forfeiture power covers any conveyances used within the U.S.3
In addition to the federal statutes summarized above, state laws and local ordinances controlling fair labor practices, workers compensation, zoning, safe housing and rental property, nuisance, licensing, street vending, and solicitations by contractors may also apply to activities that involve the hiring of illegal alien workers.
1. U.S. v. Ontoniel Vasquez-Alvarez, 176 F.3d 1294 (10th Cir.1999), cert. denied, SC 99-5643 (Oct. 4, 1999).
2. U.S. v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 884-887 (1975).
3. INA 274(a), (b)(1).
Prepared by Alex Segura
