The Trump administration is looking into deputizing some Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents to assist with illegal immigration enforcement efforts.
“The Trump admin is seeking to deputize IRS agents to carry out illegal immigration enforcement with ICE in the U.S. interior. In a letter to Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent, DHS Sec. @KristiNoem writes that IRS agents are needed to assist w/ apprehension & removal of illegal aliens. A senior DHS official tells me they expect the request to be granted,” Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin wrote.
“It is DHS’s understanding that the Department of the Treasury has qualified law enforcement personnel available to assist with immigration enforcement, especially in light of recent increases to the Internal Revenue Service’s work force and budget. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a DHS component, has the following needs,” the letter read.
“This letter requests that you make qualified officials from the Department of the Treasury available to work with ICE and that you consent to those officials being deputized to perform immigration functions pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1103(a)(6),” it added.
BREAKING: The Trump admin is seeking to deputize IRS agents to carry out illegal immigration enforcement with ICE in the U.S. interior. In a letter to Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent, DHS Sec. @KristiNoem writes that IRS agents are needed to assist w/ apprehension & removal of… pic.twitter.com/hpxPQcMhWV
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 10, 2025
* Images from Bill Melugin X Post *
Fox News reports:
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who signed the letter, said President Donald Trump directed her agency to “take all appropriate action to supplement available personnel to secure the southern border and enforce the immigration laws of the United States,” even through use of the agency’s authority to deputize federal employees to perform immigration functions.
Through the implementation of Trump’s directive, Noem noted DHS has secured partnerships with a number of law enforcement officials, who have agreed to assist in carrying out the president’s immigration agenda.
For instance, DHS has deputized law enforcement components of the Department of Justice, members of the Texas National Guard and law enforcement officials with the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
WATCH:
HOLY COW! President Trump wasn’t joking about sending IRS agents to the border. DHS just deputized them as immigration agents.
THIS IS HILARIOUS TO ME
“It is DHS’s understanding that the Department of the Treasury has qualified law enforcement personnel available to assist… pic.twitter.com/FfWLYFRB7R
— George (@BehizyTweets) February 10, 2025
From the New York Post:
Noem did not specify how many IRS and other Treasury officials she hopes to have deputized but listed nine key areas of need: supporting existing task forces on immigration, targeting illegal hiring, investigating human trafficking, seizing assets, overseeing contracts, helping with apprehensions, monitoring certain migrants, aiding in detentions and helping with removals.
ADVERTISEMENTThe DHS secretary said in her letter, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, that she would be deputizing any officials Bessent taps to carry out the “functions of an immigration officer.”
The newly deputized IRS agents could be tested before the month, when ICE plans to lead a “large scale,” multi-agency sting operation in Los Angeles, sources told the LA Times.
President Trump signed an executive order last month calling on DHS to take “all appropriate action to supplement available personnel to secure the southern border.”
That order took note of legal authority that empowers the DHS secretary and US attorney general to deputize other government employees for assistance.
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