FBI leadership has ordered the bureau’s field offices to begin shifting agents to immigration enforcement and to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The orders were released in a series of memos across the country this week, as the bureau begins de-prioritizing investigations of white collar and corporate crimes, according to NBC News.
The memo reveals that bureau leadership wants to assign 45 percent of all agents to full time immigration duties, and they hope that upwards to 2,000 agents will be engaged in immigration enforcement.
“As you know, we have been actively engaged in immigration enforcement efforts in coordination with our DOJ and DHS partners,” one such memo said. “Starting this week, we will need to see an increase in operational tempo in your immigration efforts. DOJ expects a significant increase in the number of agents participating in immigration enforcement operations.”
“The FBI has been committed to supporting our partners in immigration enforcement and will remain so,” said FBI spokesman Ben Williamson.
The Trump administration has shifted other agencies to help fulfill the president’s immigration policies.
In February, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she planned to seek the assistance of the IRS in immigration enforcement. And this month, a judge ruled that the Trump administration could order the IRS to help locate illegals using tax data.
Other agencies that have been helping ICE in immigration enforcement include the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of State (DOS), and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Federal agencies are also being augmented by hundreds of state and local police agencies and government departments through a long-standing program called the 287(g) program, a program that allows local agencies to assist federal immigration enforcement.
To date, at least 450 state and local agencies have singed onto the agreement and have been working to aide ICE across the country.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, X at WTHuston, or Truth Social at @WarnerToddHuston.
