Trump to Deputize IRS Agents to Assist in Immigration Enforcement

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has requested Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to deputize IRS criminal investigators and other law enforcement officers to assist in immigration enforcement, signaling a broader Trump administration push to expand deportation efforts.

Key Facts:

  • DHS Secretary Kristi Noem requested Treasury provide agents to investigate financial ties to human trafficking and businesses employing illegal immigrants.
  • The IRS’s criminal investigation division (IRS-CI) has 2,290 special agents, up 10% since 2022.
  • The request aligns with previous Trump administration efforts to deputize federal agents for immigration enforcement.
  • President Trump has repeatedly suggested reallocating IRS resources for border security.
  • Trump has promised the largest mass-deportation effort in U.S. history, and ICE has been ramping up arrests.

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The Rest of The Story:

A memo from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, dated February 7, outlines a plan to have IRS criminal investigators assist with immigration enforcement.

The agents would help track financial flows linked to human trafficking and businesses employing illegal immigrants, as well as detain and transport individuals.

This request is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to involve multiple law enforcement agencies in deportation operations.

Previously, the Justice Department granted immigration-enforcement powers to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The IRS-CI, which focuses on financial crimes, has expanded since 2022 when a Democratic-controlled Congress increased IRS funding.

The agency reported identifying $2.1 billion in tax fraud and $7 billion in financial crimes in 2024.

While primarily tasked with investigating tax evasion, IRS-CI agents are armed law enforcement officers with arrest authority, making them eligible for reassignment.

Trump has frequently criticized the IRS expansion and suggested diverting IRS resources to immigration enforcement.

His administration has been increasing efforts to detain and deport illegal immigrants, with ICE ramping up arrests in recent weeks.

Commentary:

The Trump administration’s move to involve IRS agents in immigration enforcement reflects a strategic repurposing of federal resources to fulfill its immigration agenda.

By leveraging IRS-CI’s expertise in tracking financial transactions, DHS aims to disrupt networks that facilitate illegal immigration.

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However, this raises concerns about mission creep—whether tax investigators should be diverted from financial crimes to border enforcement.

This also plays into a broader Republican effort to scale back the IRS, which received expanded funding under the Biden administration.

By shifting its focus to immigration, Trump can argue that IRS expansion is being used to protect national security rather than increase audits on Americans.

Whether this will be an effective deterrent to illegal immigration or merely a symbolic move remains to be seen.

The Bottom Line:

Trump’s push to involve IRS agents in immigration enforcement underscores his administration’s aggressive stance on deportations.

By repurposing federal resources, the administration aims to expand its crackdown, though questions remain about the practicality and implications of this approach.

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