Senate Democrats raise alarm over federal agents being reassigned to ICE enforcement

Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly are some of more than two dozen Democrats asking Trump administration officials about its diversion of federal agents to immigration work.

Government data analyzed by the Cato Institute in September shows more than 14,000 federal officers from criminal law enforcement agencies — like the U.S. Marshall Service, Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of Defense — have been redirected to do ICE enforcement.

An additional 8,500 state and local law enforcement officers have been trained to make ICE arrests, and 2,000 more are being trained now.

The letter from Senate Democrats says federal agents have been pulled away from some of the most critical criminal investigations, and reassigned to arrest, detain, and deport immigrants — the majority of whom have no criminal background. A separate report from the Cato Institute using ICE data shows more than 70% of immigrants in detention by the end of last year had no criminal convictions.

“Agents have been pulled off complex cases mid-investigation— cases involving child exploitation, drug trafficking, sanctions evasion, cyberattacks, domestic extremism, and foreign adversary activity —allowing dangerous criminals to roam free on our streets,” the letter reads.

The senators argue the impact of the reassignments has already been felt at agencies like Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, which they say has rescued nearly 10,000 children from exploitation, abuse and trafficking through various enforcement efforts during the last decade.

“These rescues rely on highly specialized agents, forensic interviewers, digital-evidence teams, and long-term partnerships with state, local and international law enforcement entities. Yet, entire HSI units have reportedly been reassigned en masse to immigration enforcement, primarily sweeping up immigrants who present no security threat to the U.S.,” the letter reads.

The senators are asking about the duration of assignments, the number of officers involved and other details by this month.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the number of additional state and local law enforcement officers who have been trained to make ICE arrests.