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 On September 1, 2020 Karen Comery, Assistant Chief Counsel at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office of the Principle Legal Advisor, explained her duties in the immigration court process. The local office is located in the York County Prison. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the second largest investigative agency in the federal government. Created in 2003 through a merger of the investigative and interior enforcement elements of the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, ICE now has more than 20,000 employees with offices in all 50 states and 47 foreign countries. The Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) is the largest legal program in DHS, with over 1,100 attorneys and 350 support personnel. By statute, OPLA serves as the exclusive representative of DHS in immigration removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, litigating all removal cases including those against criminal aliens, terrorists, and human rights abusers. OPLA also provides a full range of legal services to ICE programs and offices. The attorneys provide essential support to the Department of Justice in the prosecution of ICE cases and in the defense of ICE’s authorities in federal court. |