March 16, 2011 3:43 PM

Rep. asks FBI director what department Immigration & Customs Enforcement is under

Posted by Christine Delargy Leave Comment .
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In a hearing on FBI oversight Wednesday, Rep. Melvin Watt (D-N.C.), an 18-year veteran of the House Judiciary committee, asked the director of the FBI what department Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) falls under.

"It's never really been clear to me whether ICE is under Homeland Security, whether its under the Department of Justice, whether its under the FBI. I don't know where it is," Watts said in a question to Mueller, who was testifying.

FBI Director Robert Mueller informed the congressman that ICE is an agency under the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE was formed under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, following the events of September 11, 2001. ICE previously existed as part of a separate agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which was dissolved in March 2003 into ICE and two other agencies.

Watt has been a member of the House Judiciary Committee since elected to Congress in 1993 and is a ranking member of the subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet.

Watt's office has not yet responded to CBS News' request for comment.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162- ... 03544.html