Matthew Albence


Matthew Albence is an American law enforcement officer and government official. He has been acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since July 5, 2019. He previously held the acting director position between April 13 and May 27, 2019.

Education

Albence received a B.S. in Justice and a M.S. in Administration of Justice. He is a member of the Senior Executive Service.

Career

Albence served as ICE's Deputy Director, selected for this position in August 2018 to lead immigration enforcement efforts. Prior to this assignment, Albence served as the agency's Executive Associate Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, leading ERO to identify, arrest, and remove people who enter the United States without official documentation or otherwise do not comply with immigration laws. He was appointed EAD in February 2017. In this role, Mr. Albence led an organization of more than 7,600 employees assigned to 24 ERO field offices and 22 overseas locations.
Albence has stated that New York's sanctuary city policy was responsible for the January 2020 Murder of Maria Fuertes.
On July 31, 2020, Albence announced he would resign as ICE's director at the end of August.