Staton named head of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso

Jack Staton was named special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas.

HSI El Paso is responsible for the 18 westernmost counties of Texas, and the entire state of New Mexico, encompassing about 156,000 square miles. HSI special agents investigate cases related to national security and smuggling violations. The types of cases they investigate include counter-proliferation, financial crimes, commercial fraud, human trafficking, human smuggling, narcotics smuggling, transnational gangs, cyber-crimes, child exploitation, worksite enforcement, and document and benefit fraud.

“I was born in El Paso, raised in Alpine, Texas, and lived for a short time in Alamogordo, New Mexico, and it’s an honor to lead a professional and dedicated staff, who exemplify HSI’s mission of safeguarding the homeland and keeping our neighborhoods safe,” Staton said.

Staton has more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement. Prior to this position, Staton served as HSI El Paso’s deputy special agent in charge. He also served as executive deputy assistant director of HSI’s Office of Intelligence in Washington, D.C., where he oversaw ICE’s intelligence portfolio and HSI human smuggling and trafficking programs. Before that Staton worked as deputy assistant director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center in Arlington, Virginia, where he ran HSI’s commercial fraud and intellectual property rights enforcement programs. He began his career as a border patrol agent with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).