A deportation officer’s main job responsibilities include detaining and monitoring non-citizens who have been ordered to leave a country. Deportation officers usually supervise the process from the time a deportation order is issued until the non-citizen leaves the country. Monitoring legal or illegal immigrants, as well as other visitors to a country, may be part of the job description.
In some countries, the role of deportation officer is filled immigration officers, detention officers, or other law enforcement officials. The deportation officer is usually employed the immigration office. This position could also be linked to the Department of Justice or other government agencies that enforce immigration and nationality laws.
Deportation officers frequently collaborate with other immigration and customs officers, as well as attorneys representing both the government and the deportee. They usually assist in identifying, tracking down, and apprehending uncooperative aliens. Officers typically assist in the preparation and presentation of information used in immigration and exclusion hearings for deportation proceedings. They will frequently consult with liaisons from foreign consulates and embassies to ensure that passports and other travel documents are issued in time for the deportee’s return to his or her home country or another location. Officers may also be required to escort the person out of the country to ensure that they are removed in accordance with the deportation order’s requirements.
A deportation officer may be required to travel extensively. The officer may be away from home for long periods of time while on the job, both in the process of locating deportees and during legal proceedings. It may also be necessary to make frequent visits to prisons and other detention facilities.
A deportation officer’s job entails a certain amount of risk. Officers usually must be physically fit and able to handle considerable strenuous exertion in order to apprehend, subdue, and move uncooperative people. Attacks on deportation officers can occur without warning during the course of their duties, so self defense skills and training in the use of deadly force typically are necessary. Officers with prior law enforcement or military experience are not uncommon.
This job has a variety of educational requirements. Some jobs necessitate a college diploma, while others necessitate several years of experience in a related field. Deportation officers are usually trained in immigration law as well as the procedural law of the jurisdiction where they work. Most have at least some police training and speak two or more languages fluently. In most cases, citizenship in the country of operation is required.