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The Human Rights Violators & War Crimes Unit

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Overview

The Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Unit (HRVWCU), housed within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) National Security Investigations Division (NSID), conducts investigations focused on human rights violators. The HRVWCU prevents foreign war crimes suspects, persecutors and human rights abusers from entering the United States. It also identifies, prosecutes and ultimately removes such offenders who have violated laws to gain entry into the United States.

Since fiscal year 2004, ICE has arrested more than 200 individuals for human rights-related violations under various criminal and/or immigration statutes. During that same period, ICE obtained deportation orders and physically removed more than 400 known or suspected human rights violators from the United States. Currently, ICE is pursuing more than 1,900 leads and removal cases involving suspected human rights violators from nearly 95 different countries.

Mission

The HRVWCU has two important missions:

1. To prevent the admission of foreign war crimes suspects, persecutors and human rights abusers into the United States.  

2. To identify, prosecute and ultimately remove such offenders, who are already in the United States.

Learn more about successful Human Rights Violators investigations. Visit our fact sheet.

Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center

The Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) began as a pilot project in April 2008 to further increase the efficiency of these complex investigative and litigation actions.  By January 2009, the HRVWCC was fully operational. ICE Director John Morton established the HRVWCC as a permanent ICE entity in October 2009.

ICE leverages the knowledge and expertise of a select group of special agents, attorneys, intelligence specialists, criminal research specialists, and historians at the center. These employees direct the agency's broader enforcement efforts against offenders.

The No Safe Haven Initiative

The United States grants admission to more refugees and asylum seekers annually than any other nation. Individuals fleeing wars, genocide, ethnic cleansing and various other forms of persecution have often view the United States as a safe haven. The vast majority of these people choose to remain here permanently and ultimately gain citizenship through the naturalization process.

Unfortunately, individuals who have perpetrated significant abuses against others also seek entry. Some try to evade prosecution and punishment for abuses they have committed in their home countries. Others seek to enjoy the proceeds of their crimes in our open society. Frequently, they hide among those they once persecuted, falsely claiming to be victims of abuse. Sometimes, individuals seeking entry are former officials of regimes that are (or were) potentially hostile to our nation and its interests, making them not only human rights violators, but also national security threats.

ICE's No Safe Haven Initiative targets these individuals. Those accused of human rights violations can't escape justice by concealing themselves in the United States. ICE is committed to keeping the nation safe by ensuring the secure removal of aliens with known ties to human rights violations.

The Human Rights Target Tracking Initiative

ICE also works to prevent known human rights abusers from gaining entry into the United States. ICE intelligence and research specialists work with their national and international counterparts in a coordinated effort to identify serious foreign human rights abusers and war crimes suspects residing abroad.

Since formally undertaking this initiative in June 2008, ICE has been instrumental in preventing the successful admission of more than 75 human rights violators or war crimes suspects.

ICE Combined Authorities

ICE is uniquely situated to employ its combined authorities under both criminal and immigration law when pursuing foreign war criminals or human rights abuse suspects. Under existing federal criminal statutes, the United States can exercise jurisdiction over foreign offenses such as torture, genocide, war crimes, etc. ICE works with partners at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to seek such charges.

In instances where ICE cannot exercise such jurisdiction, it pursues criminal charges related to false statements and material misrepresentations made by these offenders on refugee, visa, resident or citizenship applications. ICE also seizes monetary assets linked to an offender's human rights abuses or war crimes when applicable.

ICE also has authority under U.S. immigration laws to arrest, detain, remove or deport individuals to their respective home countries, so they may face justice before their victims.

Since fiscal year 2004, ICE has arrested more than 200 individuals for human rights-related violations of the law related to various criminal and/or immigration statutes. During the same period, ICE attorneys have obtained final removal orders for more than 400 known or suspected human rights violators, from the United States.

Recent News

9/11/2012 Boston, MA Former Salvadoran military officer pleads guilty to concealing information from U.S. government

8/31/2012 Denver, CO Denver man who immigrated from Ethiopia indicted for ID theft and unlawfully procuring US citizenship

6/27/2012 Buffalo, NY Upstate New York man arrested for use of fraudulent immigration document

5/24/2012 Las Vegas, NV ICE deports former Bosnian-Serb police commander tied to Srebrenica genocide

5/7/2012 Boston, MA Rwandan national convicted of visa fraud, false statements, perjury and obstruction

3/30/2012 Buffalo, NY Liberian human rights violator removed from US

read more

Contact Information

If you have information about foreign nationals suspected of engaging in human rights abuses or war crimes, please call the ICE HSI tip line at 866-DHS-2-ICE or complete its online tip form. Callers may remain anonymous.

Assistance is available to victims of human rights abuses. Call ICE's confidential victim/witness hotline at 866-872-4973 for more information.

Videos

Human Rights Violators PSA Video

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