SAULT STE. MARIE, MI -- A new Federal Building opened Friday.

Officials say the new facility in Sault Ste. Marie will play an instrumental role in national security.

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, says the new building will give special agents the tools they need to protect our border with Canada.

Friday, the public got a chance to see the brand new building.

The building will give ICE Special Agents an office that will suit the needs of the growing force.

It also has several state-of-the-art features.

From the outside, you'd never know the building that housed top-secret Homeland Security information and played an integral role in protecting our borders from dangerous aliens.  With the new building, you miight be able to see it.

Friday, the United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, opened a permanent facility to replace the old.  ICE is the largest investigative unit of the Department of Homeland Security.

"We’ve been needing this office since the office was established here shortly after 9-11," said John Wooley, the Resident Agent of ICE Operations in Sault Ste. Marie.

Wooley says three agents started in November, 2001 to investigate possible homeland security threats.  Now, there is three times the number of special agents in the office. 

“We have equipment rooms for conducting wiretap investigations, undercover operations, and surveillance that will exceed what we had before," said Wooley.

The building will house both Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO).  ERO's priority is to locate and arrest criminal and fugitive aliens and remove them from the U.S.  Before the new building, the ERO didn't have its own office and no place to interrogate and hold prisoners.

"Incredible advantage.  The processing area alone, the safety to both the detainees and the officers is a phenomenal plus," said ICE ERO Field Office Director Rebecca Adducci.

"Up until now, we just didn't have a place that a, was secure, that was really fitting for a criminal federal investigation agency," said Brian Moscowitz, ICE HSI Special Agent-In-Charge.

Now, ICE feels they have a 21st century building for their 21st century operations.  Leaders say the building offers better technology, bigger work space, safety, and security that will help the special agents with their mission of protecting national security.

The new building is more than three times the size of the older one.

ICE says this shows the commitment of protection to Northern Michigan.