The Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office was a U.S. government agency established within the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

under the

Trump administration Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...

in February 2017.

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

directed it be established by

Executive Order 13768 Executive Order 13768 titled Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States was signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on January 25, 2017. The order stated that "sanctuary jurisdictions" including sanctuary cities that refused to c ...

. The office was dissolved by the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...

on June 11, 2021, replaced by the Victims Engagement and Services Line (VESL). The office's mission was to "provide proactive, timely, adequate, and professional services to victims of crimes committed by removable

aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

". The office's purpose was to act as a liaison between

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...

and the victims and their families to ensure they would be provided information about the offender, including the offender's immigration and custody status so that their questions and concerns regarding immigration enforcement efforts would be addressed. The VOICE office was to issue quarterly reports studying the effects of the victimization by criminal aliens present in the United States. Only one report, in June 2018, was issued through the agency's existence.

Establishment

The office was established pursuant to section 13 of the January 25, 2017,

– Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States, which states:

Sec. 13. Office for Victims of Crimes Committed by Removable Aliens. The Secretary shall direct the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take all appropriate and lawful action to establish within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement an office to provide proactive, timely, adequate, and professional services to victims of crimes committed by removable aliens and the family members of such victims. This office shall provide quarterly reports studying the effects of the victimization by criminal aliens present in the United States.

Purpose and background

The stated purpose of the office is to provide information about offenders to victims, and address questions and concerns of victims regarding immigration enforcement efforts. In a speech on February 28, 2017, President Trump discussed the new office and referred to the murders of Jamiel Shaw, Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver and Detective Michael Davis as victims of immigrant crime. He asserted that victims of immigrant crime have been "ignored by our media, and silenced by special interests".

Reactions

Support

Maria Espinoza, director of the

Remembrance Project The Remembrance Project is an anti-Illegal immigration to the United States, illegal immigration American non-profit organization based in Houston, Texas. The Project maintains a list of American citizens killed by Illegal immigration, illegal immi ...

, an anti-illegal immigration organization, said that such an office was needed "because the perpetrators are illegally in the U.S. If they are here illegally they should be removed from the country". Mark Krikorian, director of the

Center for Immigration Studies The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is an anti-immigration think tank and a SPLC designated hate group. It favors far lower immigration numbers, and produces analyses to further those views. The CIS was founded by historian Otis L. Grah ...

said "highlighting some victims of criminal aliens doesn't suggest that all immigrants are criminals. Shame on those advocacy groups that are trying to minimize the experience of these families."

Hans von Spakovsky Hans Anatol von Spakovsky (born March 11, 1959) is an American attorney and a former member of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). He is the manager of the Heritage Foundation's Election Law Reform Initiative and a senior legal fellow in Herit ...

of the

Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the preside ...

said "that every crime that is committed by someone who is here illegally is a crime that would not occur if they weren't in the country." John Fonte, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said that "the office would serve several good purposes that are directly related to immigration policy, politics, and civic morality."

Criticism

Critics said that the office overlapped and duplicated the mission of the existing

Office for Victims of Crime The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is a part of the Office of Justice Programs, within the U.S. Department of Justice. The OVC's mission is to provide aid and promote justice for crime victims. The office was created in 1988 in an amendment ...

(OVC) within the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

(DOJ), which was established in the 1980s and serves the victims of all types of crime.Suzanne Gamboa
Advocates: Trump’s Immigrant Crime Office Is Political Bait
NBC News (March 1, 2017). The executive director of the

National Center for Victims of Crime The National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information, resources and advocacy for victims of all types of crime, as well as the people who serve them. The staff oversees ...

said of the plan: "It's complete and utter duplication and there's no need. I'm not sure what this office would do or what services it would offer different than what is available at DOJ." Criminologist

James Alan Fox James Alan Fox is the Lipman Family Professor of Criminology, Law, and Public Policy and former dean at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Fox holds a bachelor's degree in sociology (1972), a master's degree i ...

, the Lipman Professor of Criminology, Law and Public Policy at Northeastern University, criticized the creation of VOICE, saying that it duplicated the mission of OVC. An editorial in the ''

Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' said that Trump's claim of victims being ignored and silenced was false, noting that crimes by immigrants generally received disproportionate attention in the media. It referred to Trump's statement as "race-baiting". Tessa Stuart of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' said, "The memo doesn't mention it, but presumably the OICEoffice would distribute the weekly list of criminal actions committed by undocumented immigrants that Trump promised in a recent executive order." New York City mayor Bill de Blasio and writer

Peter Beinart Peter Alexander Beinart (; born February 28, 1971) is an American liberal columnist, journalist, and political commentator. A former editor of ''The New Republic'', he has also written for ''Time'', ''The New York Times'', and ''The New York Revie ...

have said that Trump's establishment of the office is a form of

scapegoating Scapegoating is the practice of singling out a person or group for unmerited blame and consequent negative treatment. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals (e.g. "he did it, not me!"), individuals against groups (e.g., ...

. Daniel Benjamin, a former U.S. State Department counter-terrorism official now at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

, wrote that the office was not intended to meet a real need, but rather was aimed at promoting the view that immigrants are dangerous. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' fact-checked Trump's claims regarding

immigration and crime Immigration and crime refers to the relationship between criminal activity and immigrant communities. Research suggests that people tend to overestimate the relationship between immigration and criminality, and that the media tends to erroneously ...

and found that "the vast majority of illegal immigrants do not fit Trump's description of aggravated felons", citing studies by the

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a c ...

Kevin Drum Kevin Drum (born October 19, 1958) is an American journalist. Drum initially rose to prominence through the popularity of his independent blog ''Calpundit'' (2003–2004). He later was invited to launch a blog, ''Political Animal'' (2004–2008) ...

noted that even the anti-illegal immigration Center for Immigration Studies said that there was "no clear evidence that immigrants commit crimes at higher or lower rates than others." Anti-immigration organizations dispute the relevance of this, as they consider immigrant crime ''per se'' a sign of ineffective vetting and enforcement policies. Amanda Erickson wrote in ''The Washington Post'' that publishing regular reports on the illicit behavior of undocumented immigrants – as well as singling out a particular group – "was employed to great effect by Adolf Hitler and his allies. In the 1930s, the Nazis used a similar tactic to stir up anger and hatred toward Jews". Historian Richard Weikart, who has written about the Third Reich said that drawing a direct parallel between Trump and Hitler was "misguided", adding that "this issue doesn't really rise to that level". Erickson said that "a regular government report is a far cry from the Nazis' aggressive, constant drumbeat against the Jews", but added that "The point is not that VOICE equals the

Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda The Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (; RMVP), also known simply as the Ministry of Propaganda (), controlled the content of the press, literature, visual arts, film, theater, music and radio in Nazi Germany. The ministry ...

. But when leaders use the levers of government to drum up fear of one group of people, we should all be worried."

Notes

References

{{Immigration to the United States 2017 establishments in Washington, D.C. 2021 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. Illegal immigration to the United States Internal affairs ministries Ministries established in 2017 Ministries disestablished in 2021 Organizations based in Washington, D.C. Organizations established in 2017 Organizations disestablished in 2021 Public safety ministries U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Victims' rights Immigration policy of Donald Trump