FBI Shifts Thousands of Employees to Immigration Enforcement Under Trump's Deportation Push

The Federal Bureau of Investigation redirected over 6,500 employees to focus on immigration-related tasks within just nine months of the start of Trump’s second term, according to records obtained by The Intercept through a Freedom of Information Act request. Before Trump took office in January 2025, only 279 FBI personnel were assigned to immigration matters. By September, that number surged to more than 6,500, marking a staggering 23-fold increase. This reallocation of resources raised concerns among experts about the potential impact on criminal investigations and public safety.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, described the scale of the redirection as "shocking." The Intercept’s findings also revealed that nearly one-quarter of the FBI’s workforce—9,161 employees out of 38,000—were engaged in immigration-related work between Trump’s inauguration and September 2025. This shift coincided with a broader push by the Trump administration to expand deportations, involving not just the FBI but also other federal agencies like ICE, DEA, IRS, and ATF.

Critics argue that this diversion of FBI resources from criminal investigations to civil immigration enforcement contravened Congress’s intended purpose for the agency. David J. Bier of the Cato Institute warned that such a shift undermines public safety by diverting agents away from critical criminal work. The Intercept’s reporting also highlighted that nearly one-fifth of the FBI’s special agents were redirected to ICE operations, further straining the bureau’s core mission.

The redirection of federal law enforcement resources reflects Trump’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement, which began immediately upon his return to office. By January 2025, just six days after the second inauguration, the FBI had already assigned 1,390 employees to immigration tasks. This effort intensified as Trump authorized agencies without traditional immigration roles to assist in deportations, marking a significant escalation in enforcement efforts.