U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is commonly known for policing the physical borders between the U.S. and other countries, but the agency is also responsible for policing virtual borders.

Deputy Special Agent in Charge Dennis Ulrich said the Internet has become an outlet for predators, a place where they can exploit children under a veil of secrecy.

"It's a scary thing because it's a place for them hide," said Ulrich. "It's electronic media. They don't have to use their real name to get on a lot of these sites. They don't have to use real identifiers, where they live or date of birth."

Ulrich said ICE is bringing child predators to justice with its cyber crimes group, which is made up of investigative and computer forensics agents.

"Operation Predator is one of ICE's key operations," said Ulrich. "It was established in July 2003. It has recently been a priority of this office to start looking at the child predators online."

ICE is charged with looking at the people and goods crossing the border, said Ulrich. And in these cases, virtual borders are the new frontier for criminals where child pornography and videos can be easily shared and spread.

"Once it's put online, you don't know where it's going to," said Ulrich. "It could be transmitted from here to Europe, and back, to Africa, Australia. It could be all over the world."

So while other agencies, including the FBI and local police, are working to stop criminals sharing child pornography, Ulrich said ICE is leading the charge.

"You can only hide for so long," said Ulrich. "You will be caught. We will bring you to justice."

ICE investigations recently led to the arrest of Marco Alferez, a now former Irvin High School dance teacher and VIVA El Paso choreographer, and Omar Jose Magana, a now suspended Las Palmas Medical Center employee.

Ulrich said he could not comment on the recent cases, as each awaits trial, but could tell KFOX how agents open child pornography investigations.

“It’s just a matter of searching on the Internet, and public domain sites such as LimeWire,” said Ulrich. “Looking for these particular names, different files that are being shared amongst different people in the field.”

In the criminal complaints for Alferez and Magana, each stated ICE used law enforcement software to track the sharing of suspected child porn files. The complaints said the agents then identified the IP addresses involved in the sharing, allegedly tracing each to Alferez and Magana.

ICE would not reveal details about the software in an effort to keep the tool effective. But Ulrich said finding files in their online searches can give them probable cause to search further.

“We get the warrant. We go in, and we find the computers,” said Ulrich. “We find the recorded material. We find the cameras. We find everything else that goes along with it, with a child predator.”

Ulrich said the goal is to put child predators in jail and protect children in our community and elsewhere.

“A child is victimized somewhere in the world,” said Ulrich. “It doesn't matter whether it's a child within the United States borders or outside. We're interested in protecting all of these children.”

Ulrich said ICE agents often use tips from concerned citizens in its investigations. You can report suspicious activity by calling 1-866-DHS-2ICE or report child exploitation at cybertipline.com.