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Chapter 4. Strategies
Strategic Concept
Endgame sets in motion a cohesive enforcement program to
build the capacity to "remove all removable aliens" and eliminate the backlog
of unexecuted final order removal cases within the next ten years. The strategies herein have been developed to achieve
the program's goals and objectives, which have been constructed to meet the
requirements of the ICE, the DHS, the President, Congress and the American
people. This plan emphasizes the development of a professional workforce,
trained and supported with the infrastructure and technology necessary to
execute its key processes as efficiently and effectively as possible. It
also reinforces the need to develop and sustain an effective case management
system as a premier enabling process in both core functions. DRO's efforts to
implement these strategies will be measured through a suite of performance
indicators fully defined in the DRO Business Plan, the Annual Performance Plan,
and the Implementation Plan.
Day-in and day-out, DRO field
personnel work to identify, locate, apprehend, process, and remove aliens who
are unlawfully present in the United States. These are the five key processes
within which the DRO workload can be categorized. The DRO workload can be more
generally divided into two core business functions: 1) removal; and 2) custody
management. Having laid this foundation, the Strategic Plan Working Group
developed five goals with supporting objectives to guide effective and
efficient execution of its five key processes.
DRO will accomplish its
mission and attain its vision by executing a series of strategies and
implementing robust programs that will:
• Build partnerships with
critical stakeholders;
• Develop a professional
workforce and the infrastructure to retain it; and
• Employ mission critical
systems and information technology.
A. Build Partnerships-DRO will enter into a "partnering" campaign to
enhance existing partnerships and create new ones. DRO relies heavily on the
support it receives from many of its stakeholders and it is imperative that
open and professional cooperation be maintained so that all parties realize
positive benefits. Partnerships built on cooperation, and on-time information
sharing and data base integration can expand and strengthen the effective
management of both the detained and the non-detained docket. DRO must maintain
active partnerships with other law enforcement agencies and bar officials to
ensure that individuals released into the community comply with court orders,
appear for hearings, and depart or are removed from the country within
specified timelines. DRO will also enter into a public affairs campaign to
educate all its stakeholders on this plan and to garner support wherever it
can. DRO will maintain a Program Description for public release, that provides
the reader an up-to-date and accurate description of the DRO mission and the
procedures it practices to accomplish it.
B. Strategic Human Capital
Management- The "services" DRO offers
can only be provided with human resources. Therefore, DRO will direct
considerable energies to attracting and retaining a workforce that is
professional and well trained, a workforce that does the right things and does
them right. DRO seeks to maximize service-wide performance through the
accomplishment of four objectives: 1) develop staffing models to meet program
needs, 2) maintain peak performance through continuous staff development, 3)
provide an environment to retain these valuable human resources, and 4)
maintain peak performance through continuous organizational analysis. DRO has
begun, with the development of the Immigration Enforcement Agent, to create
career development programs affording its officers and staff opportunities for career
growth and advancement. In the coming year, DRO will conduct a review to identify disparities in staffing,
structure and grades within and between all its facilities. In the year
following complete of this review and coincident with the development of
professional development and career programs, staffing models will be published
to create consistency throughout the workforce. These staffing models will also
facilitate accurate resource requirements planning.
C. Information Technology-DRO will work with other HQ programs to develop and
implement a comprehensive integrated information technology system that
provides operational and managerial data and supports all levels of DRO
activities. DRO is currently engaged in the development of a removals module
that will be integrated into the existing ENFORCE system. The enhanced ENFORCE
package will offer greater integration and support than the previous one.
Information technology support will not stop at the development of operations
databases and systems. DRO will continue to equip itself with office automation
assets that follow the industry standards and afford the staff the capabilities
to perform their daily routines in the most efficient ways possible.
DRO's mission is critical to
the sustained internal and interagency efforts to enforce the nation's
immigration laws. Without successful accomplishment of DRO's core function
(removal), the efforts of other immigration enforcement programs have limited
impact. For what purpose does it serve to apprehend illegal aliens if the only
consequence to their apprehension is being released and never found again to be
deported? Therefore, DRO's strategic plan, Endgame, will supplement and support the ICE enforcement
strategy and will guide DRO through its role in the process. This chapter
provides the strategies the program will undertake as it moves forward in
building the capacity to remove all removable aliens and to complete the
enforcement process.
The key to sustained
success is the development of a sound and logical planning process that will
drive operations and ultimately resource requirements.
Personnel from top to bottom
must be well trained and retained; the leadership must be visionary' operations must be guided by standard
policy, efficient procedures and logical planning; and the program must
maintain the physical infrastructure (transportation, detention space, work
environment) essential to carrying out the mission. Finally, such
infrastructure must be supported with state-of-the-art information technology
to facilitate effective and efficient management and operation.
In the near term, and
beginning with the publication and distribution of this plan, DRO will enter
into a cyclical planning process and develop a five-year business plan that
will integrate resource requirements with operational demands. This planning
process will challenge DRO staff to build its future and prepare to provide
services for known and unknown demands. With this system in place, DRO will
position itself and develop the flexibilities needed to refocus, redirect and
reallocate resources to address and conquer unforeseen challenges and
contingencies.
Strategic Challenges and
Success Factors
Strategic Challenges
Endgame outlines both short and long-term strategies that,
when Implemented, will facilitate realization of its vision.
Some strategies can and will
be implemented immediately, while others will require time to plan and develop.
In pursuit of accomplishing the mission professionally, efficiently and effectively,
these strategies will address the many known and unknown challenges DRO faces
and expects to face during the same time frame. Some of those strategic
challenges have been identified as:
• The number of aliens to
remove
• Limited resources (both
human and fiscal)
• The education of
stakeholders
• Political will
• Foreign governments
• Non-removable aliens
• An efficient and effective
removal process
• The optimization of the
detention system and its process at both national and local levels.
Key success factors address
the issues raised by these challenges and guide further development of goals,
objectives and performance standards and measures. Efforts must be expended in
these areas to address and overcome the strategic challenges and to accomplish
the DRO mission. The key success factors are:
• Percent of removals related
to final orders issued
• Timelines of removal
• Increased identification
and apprehension of absconders
• Expedient receipt of travel
documents
• Minimized incident rates in
removals
• Minimized error rates in
removals
• Enough space to detain all
"referrals"
• Safe and secure custody
management and transportation through compliance with standards
• Minimized length of alien
case processing through EOIR
• Length of stay in
ICE detention
• Optimized cost
effectiveness
• Reductions in recidivism
and crime
DRO's ultimate goal is to
develop the capacity to remove all removable aliens. This plan identifies
several strategies the program will undertake and milestones it must accomplish
to reach that goal. The program must implement and execute a series of
strategies sequentially and simultaneously in order to achieve the following
milestones:
• Reduce the absconder
backlog.
• Reduce the backlog of other
unexecuted final orders.
• Reduce the criminal alien
population.
• Remove all removable
aliens.
DRO will accomplish this
mission through the execution of several strategies and key processes that can
be grouped into five goal areas:
DRO Goal One-Removals:
Promote the integrity of the immigration removals process, deter immigration
violations, and reduce recidivism through the implementation of cohesive
enforcement strategies in conjunction with other programs facilitating the
location, apprehension, processing of illegal aliens, and especially criminals,
to ultimately effect appropriate action to include prosecution, detention
and/or removal.
Integral to making America
more secure, the ICE removals program provides the final step in the
immigration enforcement process. To accomplish this mission, DRO must be
vigorous in its efforts to provide services commensurate with the demand from
and efforts expended by other enforcement programs and agencies. DRO must increase
its overall number of removals annually in order to thwart and deter continued
growth in the illegal alien population and move toward a 100% rate of removal
of all removable aliens. Therefore, to complete the enforcement process, the
removals program must implement the following initiatives:
(1.1) Objective One:
Promote public safety and combat immigration-related crimes by removing
individuals, especially criminals and other threats to public safety, who are
unlawfully present in the United States.
1.1.1: Expeditiously identify
and remove all Final Order Removals.
1.1.2: Develop national
policy and procedures to execute Fugitive Operations mission.
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