John Sandweg

What do you focus on?

As the leader of the Cross-Border Risks team, I focus on complex national security, immigration, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) compliance matters. I also assist with international criminal matters and independent compliance reviews for individuals and companies in the U.S. and abroad. In this capacity, I advise individuals, businesses, governments, and political leaders on how best to achieve their most important objectives.

I tap into my years of experience in leadership positions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and DHS to provide my clients with a unique perspective and strategic advice to ensure compliance with cross-border laws and regulations. I also draw on this experience to help individuals and companies to achieve cross-border investment objectives and overcome barriers to market access.

In my role as the Acting Director of ICE, I led approximately 20,000 employees in every state and 47 countries in the agency's mission to enhance public safety and border security through the enforcement of federal border control, customs, trade, and immigration laws. I prioritized ICE’s intellectual property enforcement and cybersecurity efforts and worked to improve statistical transparency regarding immigration enforcement.

As the Acting General Counsel of DHS, I served as the chief legal officer for the Department, advising the Secretary and the Department’s senior leadership on all significant legal, policy, and operational issues. Prior to this role, I served as counselor where I provided strategic advice and counsel on operational and policy direction and was a principal architect of the DHS’s immigration, border security, and law enforcement policy.