Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer

View Common Definitions of terms found in this announcement. These are non-bargaining unit positions. Salary: The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the lowest and highest potential salaries for this position. The actual salary range will be based on the applicable locality pay for the selected duty location. Special Salary pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages.

Major duties
As a Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer, you will perform the following duties: Work with other Federal law enforcement officials to identify, locate and/or apprehend noncitizens; prepare, present and defend deportation or exclusion proceedings; ensuring the physical removal of noncitizens from the United States at various stages of their deportation/exclusion proceedings, and conduct surveillance work. Prepare investigative reports; and assist in complex, difficult, or sensitive seizures. Coordinate travel plans with airlines; negotiating with receiving countries for receipt of deportee; and escorting deportees to their country of citizenship. Plan the work to be accomplished by your subordinates, set and adjust short-term priorities, and prepare schedules for completion of the work and assign work to subordinates based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of employees and find ways to improve productivity or increase the quality of the work directed. Evaluate work performance of subordinates; give advice, counsel, or instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters and develop performance standards and hear and resolve complaints from employees; effect minor disciplinary measures; identify developmental training needs of employees, providing or arranging for needed development and training. Organizational Location: These positions are located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations, in Adelanto, California; Agana, Guam; Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; Alamosa, Colorado; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Alexandria, Louisiana; Alvarado, Texas; Anahuac, Texas; Anson, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Aurora, Colorado; Bakersfield, California; Baltimore, Maryland; Batavia, New York; Big Spring, Texas; Binghamton, New York; Blue Ash, Ohio; Boise, Idaho; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Bowling Green, Virginia; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Brooklyn Heights, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; Burlington, Massachusetts; Camarillo, California; Cary, North Carolina; Centennial, Colorado; Champlain, New York; Chantilly, Virginia; Chaparral, New Mexico; Charleston, South Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Chicago, Illinois; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Columbia, South Carolina; Conroe, Texas; Corpus Christi, Texas; Dallas, Texas; Dalton, Georgia; Detroit, Michigan; Dilley, Texas; Dover, Delaware; Edna, Texas; El Centro, California; El Paso, Texas; Eloy, Arizona; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Flagstaff, Arizona; Florence, Arizona; Florence, Colorado; Folkston, Georgia; Fort Myers, Florida; Fort Snelling, Minnesota; Frederick, Colorado; Fresno, California; Galveston, Texas; Gillette, Wyoming; Grand Forks, North Dakota; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Gulfport, Mississippi; Harlingen, Texas; Harrisonburg, Virginia; Hartford, Connecticut; Hawley, Pennsylvania; Hendersonville, North Carolina; Honolulu, Hawaii; Houston, Texas; Hudson, Colorado; Indianapolis, Indiana; Jacksonville, Florida; Jena, Louisiana; Kansas City, Missouri; Knoxville, Tennessee; Lake Havasu City, Arizona; Laredo, Texas; Las Cruces, New Mexico; Las Vegas, Nevada; Little Rock, Arkansas; Los Angeles, California; Louisville, Kentucky; Lufkin, Texas; Lumpkin, Georgia; Malta, New York; Manchester, New Hampshire; Medford, Oregon; Memphis, Tennessee; Miami, Florida; Midland, Texas; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Mobile, Alabama; Morgan Hill, California; Mount Laurel, New Jersey; New Orleans, Louisiana; New York, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Newburgh, New York; Norfolk, Virginia; Oakdale, Louisiana; Ogden, Utah; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Omaha, Nebraska; Orlando, Florida; Panama City, Florida; Pecos, Texas; Pflugerville, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Philipsburg, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; Pinedale, Wyoming; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Poca, West Virginia; Portland, Oregon; Reno, Nevada; Richland, Washington; Richmond, Virginia; Rock Springs, Wyoming; Roswell, New Mexico; Sacramento, California; Saint George, Utah; Saint Louis, Missouri; Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands; Salisbury, Maryland; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Antonio, Texas; San Bernardino, California; San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Santa Ana, California; Santa Maria, California; Savannah, Georgia; Scarborough, Maine; Seattle, Washington; Spokane, Washington; Springfield, Massachusetts; Stockton, California; Stuart, Florida; Syracuse, New York; Tacoma, Washington; Tallahassee, Florida; Tampa, Florida; Tucson, Arizona; Twin Falls, Idaho; Van Nuys, California; Waco, Texas; Warwick, Rhode Island; Westerville, Ohio; Wichita, Kansas; Williamsport, Pennsylvania; Williston, Vermont; Wilmington, North Carolina; Winnfield, Louisiana; York, Pennsylvania; Yuma, Arizona.

Qualifications
All candidates must clearly demonstrate in their two-page resume how they meet the specialized experience requirements listed below. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. Your resume needs to clearly outline your experience to include specific actions you took. Reviewers will not make assumptions regarding your role or experience. Copying and pasting the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume does not establish sufficient evidence of your experience or qualifications. You qualify at the GS-13 grade level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level performing duties such as: Investigate: Conduct complex immigration-related investigations by reviewing evidence, resolving conflicting information, developing leads, and establishing facts. Prepare complaints, subpoenas, witness statements, and detailed reports; use authorized records systems and investigative technologies; assess identity and nationality claims; detect fraudulent documents; and support potential criminal, civil, or administrative action. Identify and Locate: Identify and locate individuals subject to immigration enforcement action, particularly those who may present public-safety or national-security concerns. Develop leads through intelligence, human resources, biometric and law-enforcement information systems, interviews, and authorized physical surveillance. Arrest: Interview witnesses and suspects; obtain and serve criminal and civil arrest warrants; and initiate appropriate criminal, civil, or removal proceedings. Participate in or lead interagency enforcement operations, prepare charging documentation, obtain sworn statements, and support enforcement actions in coordination with partner law-enforcement agencies. Custody: Make and support custody determinations in accordance with constitutional requirements, federal laws, regulations, and agency policy. Conduct legal research, evaluate custody conditions, assist with litigation, ensure safe, secure, and humane treatment in custody, supervise individuals released under various conditions, and manage cases through removal or release. Prosecute: Assess cases for legal sufficiency and compliance with prosecutorial guidelines for criminal or administrative action. Prepare affidavits, complaints, warrants, subpoenas, and evidentiary materials; coordinate with U.S. Attorneys, agency counsel, and law-enforcement partners; ensure trial readiness; and provide sworn testimony in judicial and administrative proceedings. Deportation: Determine whether individuals meet the legal requirements for removal and process cases through final resolution. Apply immigration laws, court orders, regulations, and precedent; prepare custody and relief-related documentation; obtain and evaluate foreign identity and travel documents; coordinate with legal representatives and foreign officials; and plan and execute safe, lawful removals, including complex cases involving noncompliance. Partnering: Build and maintain effective working relationships with federal, state, local, and foreign law-enforcement agencies; consular officials; correctional and parole agencies; detention-facility contractors; and other stakeholders. Participate in task forces, collect and share actionable intelligence, support repatriation and consular coordination, maintain immigration-enforcement agreements, monitor detention-facility compliance, and recommend corrective actions or best practices as appropriate. Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification. National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement. Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime (AUO): This position may require substantial amounts of irregular or occasional overtime. You may be required to work on an unscheduled basis in excess of the 40-hour workweek. You must be readily available to perform this unscheduled overtime on a continual basis. To compensate you for this irregular and occasional overtime, you may receive premium pay in the form of Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime (AUO). AUO is currently authorized for this position. However, authorization for AUO is dependent upon the incumbent meeting certain regulatory criteria and is subject to change. Secondary Law Enforcement: The Detention and Deportation Officer (DDO) position is an approved Secondary Law Enforcement position under 5 USC 8331 (20) and 5 USC 8401 (17). Previous experience in a primary (AKA rigorous) law enforcement position (or equivalent outside the Federal Government) is a prerequisite. Retirement Coverage: This position is an approved Secondary Law Enforcement position under 5 USC 8331 (20) and 5 USC 8401 (17). Law Enforcement retirement coverage (special law enforcement provisions) is extended only if this position immediately follows service in a law enforcement position. FERS applicants must have completed three (3) years of service in a rigorous (AKA primary) position and transfer directly from a covered position in order to continue Law Enforcement retirement coverage upon selection. (Note: Applicants may meet position qualification requirements, but not meet the special Law Enforcement retirement coverage eligibility. If such an applicant is selected, he/she will be placed in the regular retirement code.

How to apply
To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete the Occupational Questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13108518, aaessment and submit all the required documentation as specified in he HOW TO APPLY and the REQUIRED DOCUMENTS section. The complete initial Application must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/11/2026. The vacancy questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions. This provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question. Please provide a response of 200 words or less to each question. You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot. You are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. PLEASE NOTE: If your materials are not received by the closing date, your application will be evaluated solely on the information available and you may not receive full consideration or may not be considered eligible. Also, if you do not provide a valid email address, you may not be notified of the outcome of your application. To begin your online application, click "Apply Online" to create a USAJOBS account and follow the prompts or log in to your existing account. Your application packet must include a completed assessment questionnaire, a resume, and any applicable and or required supporting documentation. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional information. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English. We encourage you to apply online. Applications and supporting documentation will not be accepted by mail or email. The address below is for inquiries only. You may apply more than once, but the most recent application is the only one that will be used. You must submit your resume, your online questionnaire, and any supporting documents by 11:59 PM eastern standard time on 11/11/2026. It is your responsibility to verify that any information entered or uploaded is received and is accurate. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. Determining your eligibility and qualifications is dependent on the supporting documentation and information provided, which may impact your referral for further consideration. If a document is not legible, you will not be able to view it in your application. One or more positions may be filled using this vacancy announcement. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.