Profile
Enrique M. Lucero is the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Executive Associate Director. In this role, Mr. Lucero leads ERO in its mission to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of aliens who undermine the safety of our communities and the integrity of our immigration laws. He is responsible for a budget of approximately $4.4 billion and leads more than 7,900 employees assigned to 24 ERO field offices and headquarters, in more than 200 domestic locations and 25 overseas locations.
Prior to his current position, Mr. Lucero served as ERO’s Acting Deputy Executive Associate Director where he oversaw the execution of ERO’s interior immigration enforcement operations.
Mr. Lucero has held numerous other leadership positions within ICE including Assistant Director for Field Operations, Field Office Director for the Phoenix, San Antonio and Washington Field Offices, Deputy Assistant Director for the Headquarters Compliance Enforcement Division, Unit Chief for the ERO Criminal Alien Program Operations Unit, and National Program Manager for the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Unit.
Mr. Lucero started his federal career in 1993, proudly serving as an enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army. He has more than two decades of federal law enforcement experience. He began his law enforcement career as a Border Patrol Agent with the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service before being selected as Senior Patrol Agent. Subsequently, Mr. Lucero transitioned to the ICE Office of Investigations, serving as both a Special Agent and Senior Special Agent.
Mr. Lucero is a recipient of the ICE Director’s Award for International Achievement and the ICE Assistant Secretary’s Award for Protecting the Homeland. He received the Director’s Award in 2014 for the implementation of initiatives that resulted in a total cost avoidance of more than $75 million annually. He received the Assistant Secretary’s Award in 2007 for his work on a major investigation that resulted in multiple felony convictions and a criminal forfeiture of $4.7 million.
Mr. Lucero has been a member of the Senior Executive Service since 2012. He holds a Master of Science in Management from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from National University. Additionally, Mr. Lucero has been an adjunct professor of management and leadership courses at the undergraduate level.
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