WASHINTON, D.C. -- Immigration and Customs Enforcement is playing a key role in the Trump administration’s plans to crack down on illegal immigration.

Here’s a look at some key questions about the agency and its priorities.

Why was ICE created?

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, began operating in 2003 after a major government effort to boost national security in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. ICE is part of the Department of Homeland Security, which began operations the same year. Previously, immigration enforcement in the US was largely handled by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), which was part of the Department of Justice.

How big is ICE?

More than 20,000 people work for ICE in more than 400 offices across the US and around the world, according to the agency’s website. Its annual budget is about $9 billion, according to the fiscal year 2024 annual report. Four directorates comprise the agency: Homeland Security Investigations, Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor and Management and Administration.

Who is leading ICE?

Caleb Vitello is the agency’s acting director, reporting to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Vitello was most recently assistant director for ICE’s O?ce of Firearms and Tactical Programs and also previously served as chief of staff for the Enforcement and Removal Operations division, among other roles.

White House officials are also playing a key role in immigration policy and frequently speaking out about immigration enforcement, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and former acting ICE chief Tom Homan, now designated as President Trump’s “border czar.”

How are ICE’s priorities and methods changing under Trump?

Like under the Biden administration, ICE teams are continuing to carry out routine enforcement operations. And officials have said targeting criminals is a priority. A key difference now is that if ICE targets a criminal and that person is with another undocumented immigrant, they, too, could be arrested.

Past administrations have also claimed they would focus enforcement on criminals. But a key issue to watch is how the term “criminal” is defined. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said this week that the administration sees all undocumented immigrants as criminals.

“Of course, the…criminal drug dealers, the rapists, the murderers, the individuals who have committed heinous acts on the interior of our country and who have terrorized law-abiding American citizens, absolutely, those should be the priority of ICE,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that the other illegal criminals who entered our nation’s borders are off the table.”

What’s more, an executive order Trump signed the day he took office marks a significant priority shift for a branch of ICE. Homeland Security Investigations, the division known for its investigations of such crimes as child pornography, human trafficking and antiquities fraud, now is tasked with enforcing immigration laws “and other federal laws related to the illegal entry and unlawful presence of aliens” in the US as its “primary mission.”

The administration also announced a new policy allowing ICE to conduct enforcement actions in or near sensitive areas like schools and churches –– places that, under the Biden administration, required more steps before authorities could initiate arrests.

What has ICE been doing since President Trump returned to power?

ICE is making a point of widely publicizing its immigration enforcement efforts, sharing regular social media updates detailing daily numbers of arrests, along with names and images of those arrested.

The administration is aiming for each of ICE’s 25 field office to make at least 75 arrests a day, “but hopefully many more” as part of its crackdown on immigration, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told CNN.

Since January 23, the agency has said it’s made more than 5,500 arrests. That’s an average of nearly 800 arrests daily.

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted 113,431 administrative arrests in the fiscal year that ended October 2024, according to an agency report. That was about 310 arrests a day.

What other government agencies are involved in immigration enforcement?

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), another DHS agency, also plays a leading rolein immigration enforcement, focusing largely on US border regions and ports of entry. Federal regulations give CBP expanded search authority to conduct immigration checks anywhere within a “reasonable distance” of 100 air miles from US land borders and coastlines – a vast territory encompassing roughly two thirds of the US population.

The Trump administration says it plans to ramp up partnerships with state and local law enforcement agencies across the US.

The administration has also said it wants to expand the military’s role. Already we’ve seen additional active-duty troops deployed to the US southern border, military aircraft used for deportation flights and an announcement that a Space Force base in Colorado will be used to temporarily hold and process “criminal aliens.”

And Trump said Wednesday that he’ll sign an executive action ordering the federal government to prepare the US Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to house tens of thousands of migrants. ICE will oversee the facility, Homan and Noem told CNN.

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez, Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Holmes Lybrand, Celina Tebor and Oren Liebermann contributed to this report.

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