Nearly half of the FBI agents in America’s largest offices have been reassigned to immigration enforcement, a statistic that stunned even insiders. The shift, reportedly involving around 6,000 agents, marks one of the most dramatic mission pivots in the Bureau’s history.
Officially, it’s about “supporting DHS operations.” Unofficially, it looks like a redirection of federal manpower from counterterrorism and cybercrime toward political optics.
The FBI’s reputation was built on its independence, its ability to chase threats wherever they lead. But this move risks transforming agents into adjunct border patrol officers.
Cyberattacks are rising. Espionage cases are multiplying. Domestic extremism hasn’t gone anywhere. Yet the country’s top investigative force is being repurposed to enforce immigration laws, a role it was never designed for.
In a time when national security demands focus and expertise, the FBI’s new mission raises a simple, uncomfortable question: who’s watching the threats while everyone’s watching the border?
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