What specialized units can ICE agents join after gaining experience, such as HSI or ERO?
Executive summary
ICE officers and special agents typically begin in one of two career tracks—Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) for deportation and custody work, or Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for criminal investigations—and after gaining experience can move into a range of specialized units and task forces including Special Response Teams, K‑9 units, intelligence and international assignments, and multi‑agency task forces such as Joint Terrorism Task Forces or High‑Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces [1] [2] [3]. Training at FLETC and division‑specific academies precedes assignment to most of these units, while recent agency growth and policy shifts have pushed expansion of security and tactical teams [4] [5] [6].
1. Homeland Security Investigations vs. Enforcement and Removal Operations—two broad gateways to specialization
ICE’s two operational directorates set the baseline career path: HSI special agents are plainclothes criminal investigators who can pursue financial crimes, human trafficking, cybercrime and transnational smuggling; ERO officers focus on identifying, arresting and removing noncitizens and managing detention operations [1] [3]. Those initial assignments determine available specializations—criminal investigators more often flow into intelligence, international attachments and federal task forces, while ERO officers more commonly feed into tactical units and removal operations teams [1] [7].
2. Tactical and high‑risk response units—Special Response Teams and security detachments
ERO and ICE more broadly have developed and expanded tactical units to manage high‑risk arrests and public‑order risks, including Special Response Teams and already‑deployed security teams that accompany raids, and ICE has been procuring armored vehicles and protective equipment to support those units [6]. These units train differently from desk investigators and are intended for dynamic entry, crowd‑risk mitigation, and high‑threat arrests; movement into them generally follows operational experience and additional tactical selection and training [6] [8].
3. Canine, mounted, and other operational specialties at the field level
At the field level, agents and officers can join operational specialties found across border and immigration enforcement agencies—K‑9 units, mounted patrols, bike patrols, off‑road vehicle teams and rapid response or contraband enforcement teams—each requiring separate selection and certification and offering different day‑to‑day responsibilities from standard casework [9] [10]. These assignments are more common for Border Patrol or uniformed enforcement roles but are mirrored in ICE components that perform on‑the‑ground arrests and transport [9] [10].
4. Intelligence, international offices, and national incident response roles
HSI and ICE intelligence elements provide pathways into analytical, international and emergency response work: agents can serve in international offices attached to U.S. diplomatic missions, join national task forces, or work in units such as the National Incident Response Unit that handle national emergencies and critical events [3] [2]. Becoming eligible for these positions typically requires demonstrated investigative experience, specialized training (often at FLETC), and clearances tied to intelligence work [4] [5].
5. Multi‑agency task forces and investigative taskings—JTTF, HIDTA and others
Experienced HSI special agents and some ERO investigators are routinely detailed to multi‑agency task forces—Joint Terrorism Task Forces, High‑Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces, and other interagency teams—where federal, state and local roles blend and agents bring ICE authorities to wider criminal investigations; these assignments broaden investigative scope and career advancement options [2] [3]. Participation is competitive and contingent on background checks, training equivalencies (like the CITP) and sometimes prior criminal‑investigative experience [5].
6. Career realities, politics and limits of reporting
While official materials and secondary reporting outline many specialty channels—tactical SRTs, K‑9, task forces, international posts and intelligence units—there is also political scrutiny and institutional friction: some HSI leadership has sought separation from ICE’s broader brand, and agency expansion under certain administrations has pushed more tactical postures and visible security teams, reflecting policy choices rather than purely operational need [4] [6]. The sources used describe available units, training pipelines (FLETC, CITP, HSI SAT) and examples of tactical growth, but do not provide a single exhaustive roster of every select assignment or the full selection criteria for each specialty; for that, official ICE career pages and specific job announcements remain the primary reference [1] [11].