Vance Callender, special agent in charge over Michigan and Ohio for Homeland Security Investigations.
Courtesy: U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement.
A top Homeland Security Investigations official went on administrative leave after his Michigan home was raided last week by authorities, his lawyer said Wednesday.
The reason for the raid remains unknown.
The lawyer for HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Vance Callender in a text message to CNBC, also said, “We have entered into a dialogue with the investigators.”
“Mr. Callender wants to clarify and resolve the unconfirmed allegations,” said the attorney, Nick Oberheiden, who did not describe those allegations.
“To not impede the investigation, he is on administrative leave,” Oberheiden said.
The lawyer’s latest comments came a day after the news broke that more than a dozen law-enforcement officers had raided Callender’s home in Royal Oak, Mich., last Friday, and removed several items from the residence.
The 49-year-old Callender, who has served as the top HSI agent in Michigan and Ohio since 2020, was not at home during the raid, and has not been seen around the house for more than a month or so, a neighbor said.
But Callender’s wife Brooke was present when officers searched the residence, according to the neighbor.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman would not say Tuesday whether that agency, which is the parent to HSI, conducted the raid, or whether it was another agency. The FBI said it was not involved in the operation.
But the ICE spokeswoman did say, “Any allegations of misconduct are appropriately investigated, and any employee, regardless of rank or seniority, who has committed provable misconduct, will be held accountable.
The spokeswoman declined to comment Wednesday on Callender’s status at ICE, which is a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
HSI agents enforce immigration and customs laws, and investigate criminal organizations for drug smuggling, financial crimes, human trafficking, and other activities.
Callender has worked as a federal law enforcement agent for 26 years.
Before taking command of HSI’s Detroit office, he was deputy special agent in charge for HSI San Antonio, Texas. He previously was the country attache at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica, and held other high-ranking posts in Texas and positions overseas.
