DHS, ICE announce relaunch of VOICE office to assist victims of crimes involving noncitizens

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the relaunch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement office — VOICE — at a press event held during National Crime Victims Week. Noem said the office will provide a “victim-centered approach” to support families affected by crimes tied to noncitizens and will coordinate with local victim advocates, law enforcement and federal partners.

The announcement, made alongside acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and Deputy Director Madison Sheehan and staged with several family members who described the deaths or attacks of relatives, came as officials described VOICE’s intended services: help locating victim advocates and social services, notifications on an alien’s custody status, and providing victims opportunities to submit impact statements. “The VOICE office will speak for these that we have lost and it will be a critical part of all the efforts that we undertake,” Noem said.

Why it matters: officials framed the relaunch as restoring a resource for families after the office was closed under the previous administration. ICE leaders and family members said VOICE will centralize assistance and information for people harmed in incidents involving noncitizens, including cases where the alleged offender was present legally or illegally.

Noem, identified in the event as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said the office will pursue three objectives: provide victim-centered support, promote awareness of available services and build partnerships with community stakeholders. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons described VOICE as a “proactive approach to helping people who have been victimized by criminal aliens,” and said staff will work with local victim service providers and law enforcement to provide referrals and custody- and immigration-status notifications.

Family members who spoke described personal losses and urged continued enforcement. Sabita Durden Coulter, introduced at the podium as the mother of Dominic Durden, recounted her son’s 2012 death and the criminal case that followed. “Everything in your world stops,” she said of grieving a child. Maureen Maloney, introduced as the mother of Matthew Denise, described her son’s 23-year-old death and credited VOICE’s prior iteration with providing support: “VOICE is an organization that is staffed by specially trained liaisons who can provide victims and their families information pertinent to the illegal offender’s immigration status and custody status,” Maloney said.

ICE officials said VOICE’s help is not limited to people harmed by someone present unlawfully. “This means if someone’s victimized by an alien who’s in The United States on a visa, or who’s otherwise here legally, the VOICE office can still help,” Lyons said.

Reporters pressed officials on enforcement and information-sharing. CNN’s question about whether deportations have begun under the Alien Enemies Act drew a response from Noem that the department would use the statute and would not discuss operational details: “We will use the Alien Enemies Act. We will continue to use it to deport people,” she said, adding that specific operations would be kept secure. On a separate question about an agreement to share IRS data to aid criminal investigations, Noem said the arrangement is “targeted” and that Americans’ privacy would be protected; she said specifics will be disclosed in a transparent manner at a later time.

Officials cited recent seizures and enforcement actions while describing broader enforcement priorities. Lyons and Noem referenced border interdictions and drug seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Coast Guard as part of a broader campaign against cartels and traffickers; specific figures cited at the event included seizure amounts reported by officials (for example, 34 pounds of fentanyl seized in California and other multi‑pound seizures in Arizona). Lyons also said VOICE can provide victims additional information “in some cases” about an alien’s criminal history and immigration history while in the United States.

What was not decided: the event announced the relaunch and described planned functions, but did not present a rulemaking, budget vote or statutory change; officials said operational details about some enforcement tools and data‑sharing agreements would be released later. No vote, contract, ordinance or other formal legislative action was recorded at the event.

The relaunch follows the Trump administration’s earlier creation of VOICE in 2017; speakers said the office was closed during the prior administration and restored by executive action. Officials urged victims to seek VOICE’s services and directed media and the public to ICE’s Public Affairs Office for follow-up questions.