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FBI Will No Longer Investigate Alleged Assaults on Immigration Agents, Defers Cases to Homeland Security Unit
The FBI will stop handling investigations into alleged assaults on immigration agents and instead defer them to Homeland Security Investigations. Field offices received notice of the shift on Thursday. The change follows recent fatal shootings by ICE officers in Texas and Maine.
Jul 19, 9:07 PM·1m read1 source
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The FBI will no longer participate in investigations into alleged assaults on immigration agents and will instead defer those cases to Homeland Security Investigations. FBI field offices were informed of the change on Thursday, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
HSI operates as an arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security.
This means the immigration enforcement agency would handle incidents involving its own agents. The policy shift was first reported by The New York Times. The FBI and ICE did not immediately respond to CBS News requests for comment.
The decision comes after an ICE officer shot and killed a Mexican national in Houston on July 7. The man had lived in the United States for decades. Days later, an ICE officer shot and killed a Colombian man in Biddeford, Maine.
Earlier this year the FBI surged resources in Minnesota to investigate alleged assaults on immigration officers conducting enforcement operations in Minneapolis. Some of those cases were later dismissed after prosecutors reviewed the evidence. HSI is not typically tasked with investigating officer-involved shootings.
The agency is not structured or equipped to handle ballistics analysis, forensic processing, firearm examinations, video review, and large-scale witness canvassing.
