What is a Deportation Liaison Officer?

The position of deportation liaison officer is one provided by ICE, also known as US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The goal of this agency, and likewise, the ultimate goal of all workers within is to enforce federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration to promote homeland security and public safety. As a deportation liaison officer, or DLO, one will take on this specific mission and more. To learn more about this important vocation today, read on.

Duties and Goals

As touched on above, as an officer working for ICE, one’s job is all about securing the border of the United States. This is first and foremost. Second to this function, a DLO can expect to perform a web of functions that ultimately promote that primary agency goal.

DLO’s work in various locations, and act as the primary, on-the-ground responsible party for overseeing the typically complex deportation process. Whether in a foreign location or domestically, this officer handles all of this process and acts as a sort of case worker when an individual is deemed as a possible deport under law. First however, they must be deemed as such, and the DLO also has a notable role in determinations here as well.

Before overseeing all aspects of the complicated deportation process, the DLO may have been involved with determining that the person in question should be deported under the law. If they were involved in this process, they will likely have handled matters of physical custody, observation, research and investigations, diplomatic communications between several nations, and more. In this capacity, the DLO is clearly an investigator. In the subsequent matters of physical deportation, this officer essentially acts as a custodian over the safe control and movements of the deportee in question.

Places of Work

As a result of the fact that immigration and customs law can really be broken anywhere, the DLO is suspect to working virtually anywhere in the world. This is with some exception, though. While these officers may work full-time or temporarily in any other country, they are typically headquartered at an embassy or official, government-controlled facility or immigration point. DLO’s working in the US investigate cases within the US and deport to places outside of it. DLO’s working abroad typically fulfill the inverse of this role, deporting illegal, foreign-located US citizens back to the US.

Job Requirements

To become a DLO, one must meet some specific and fairly unwavering job requirements. You must be a US citizen with a willingness to travel if it becomes necessary. You must also pass extensive background examinations and a current drug screen. In addition, candidates are required to be civil service registered and pass a battery of examinations aimed at proving a thorough understanding of US laws and certain law enforcement procedures therein. These conditions of employment generally do not vary whatsoever from one application to the next.

Related Resource: How Do You Become a Criminal Investigator?

ICE is an important element to the safety and security of the domestic United States. Today’s DLO is, likewise, a crucial and individual element of that greater endeavor to keep the country safe and secure.