United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Canada don’t carry firearms, the agency said following questions about a potential ICE presence at upcoming FIFA World Cup games.
An ICE spokesperson said personnel from the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations branch work with Canadian partners on joint investigations involving narcotics, weapons smuggling and human trafficking. The spokesperson said they also investigate child exploitation and help to identify and rescue minor victims.
“HSI special agents do not conduct operational activities in Canada, such as making arrests or executing search warrants,” the spokesperson said.
ICE currently has five offices in Canada, including offices in Toronto and Vancouver, cities which will host World Cup games this summer.
So ICE has 5 offices in Canada. How many RCMP offices are in the US? And yes, I looked, but there is exactly zero info out there on this.
Not sure if it’s relevant here, but there are 9 airports in 8 Canadian cities (Toronto has two) with US customs preclearance. That is, you clear US customs in Canada and arrive like a domestic flight. The reverse does not exist (I believe Canada has the option to but US airports don’t generally have the volume of Canadian flights to justify it). If those ICE offices are related to those US facilities, (if…) it would make some sense.