From Capitol Trespassers to Cartel Takedowns: Director Patel Reorients the FBI

For the first time in its history, the Federal Bureau of Investigation will provide bureau-wide operational support to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—FBI agents on the ground and embedded with ICE agents effecting immigration arrests. This is not mission creep—this is mission correction. Under the leadership of Director Kash Patel, the FBI has stepped into a role it should have occupied during the borderless era of the Biden administration: Backing the enforcement of immigration law as a matter of national security, criminal enterprise disruption, and homeland defense.

As someone who served in both local law enforcement and the Bureau, I see this not as a controversial pivot, but as a necessary evolution. Illegal immigration is not merely a civil matter—it’s a vector for cartel infiltration, human trafficking, transnational gangs, and even foreign intelligence threats. The FBI’s support for ICE doesn’t dilute the Bureau’s mission—it sharpens it.

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Finding Synergies in Federal Agencies

Traditionally, ICE and the FBI have operated in parallel. Past administrations have been hesitant to integrate immigration enforcement with federal investigative power. However, the FBI’s statutory jurisdiction, although indirect, is entirely justifiable. 

First, the Secretary of Homeland Security has the authority to delegate immigration enforcement powers to other federal agencies. Specifically, 8 U.S.C. § 1103(a)(4) and (6) permit the Secretary to authorize officers from the Department of Justice (DOJ), including the FBI, to perform functions of immigration officers. This delegation enhances interagency cooperation in enforcing immigration laws.

Second, issued in January 2025, Executive Order 14159 “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” mandates federal agencies to utilize all lawful means to enforce U.S. immigration laws. It underscores the importance of interagency collaboration, thereby facilitating the FBI's involvement in supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.

And third, under 28 U.S.C. § 533, the FBI has the authorization to detect and prosecute crimes against the United States. This broad mandate allows the FBI to investigate criminal activities that may intersect with immigration violations, such as human trafficking, terrorism, and transnational organized crime.

So, the statutory authority exists to empower FBI agents to enforce immigration law and to effect arrests. Beyond the legal nuance, Patel’s directive to FBI divisions clearly indicates just how quickly the FBI has been reoriented from chasing federal trespassers, who happened to be present at or in the Capitol Building on January 6th. This in and of itself was a radical departure from previous FBI operational priorities and policy. Federal trespassing is an obscure charge and nowhere exists in the hierarchy of FBI metrics.

The directive by Patel transforms ad hoc cooperation into institutional collaboration. That means a concerted and FBI-wide mandate to effect task force integration, share intel pipelines, coordinate surveillance, and provide forensic/lab support. The FBI’s investigative resources far outstrip anything ICE can bring to bear on its own, due to its focus on enforcement objectives as opposed to the FBI’s formidable investigative apparatus. With this action, Director Patel has made immigration enforcement a strategic priority for the Bureau. 

FBI involvement in ICE operations is incredibly important to the American people for a multitude of reasons. However, some of the most immediate to the public’s interests concern the fentanyl crisis, human trafficking, and foreign intelligence which counters the terrorism threat. The FBI has long targeted transnational criminal organizations and has amassed an institutional knowledge which is unrivaled. Therefore, the FBI is uniquely positioned to assist ICE in dealing with the fentanyl crisis, and positions FBI resources to support ICE operations encountering the threat at the border. This creates a seamless chain of support and information sharing from port-of-entry to distribution.

Human trafficking, a crime of international proportion, has grown exponentially. During the Biden administration’s open border policy, human trafficking enterprises took full advantage of the lucrative opportunities created by a lawless border. While ICE operations are able to target discrete stash houses and other human trafficking apparatus, the FBI can leverage ongoing ICE operations while adding its extensive expertise and operational resources in identifying, investigating, and applying RICO to criminal organizations systemically. 

Entry opportunities for adversaries often involve false documents and illegal crossings — areas ICE knows well but hasn't had analytical support to fully exploit. Now they do. 

Some critics have decried the FBI’s partnership with ICE, but the FBI is capable of doing many things at once. It is structured to handle a wide variety of investigations, and reprioritizing white collar investigations to provide additional resources to ICE will in no way hamper Medicare/Medicaid fraud investigations in South Florida. The hard truth is, border security is national security, and the FBI’s support of ICE is critical to our national security. Millions have already crossed the border — the vast majority of which have not been vetted in any way. It is tantamount to an invasion. Trump has stemmed the tide, and now the FBI and ICE are working to eliminate the threat to the American public. 

The FBI isn’t becoming something it’s not. It’s rediscovering what it was meant to be: a federal investigative body that defends the nation against all threats—internal and external. Supporting ICE isn’t a stretch. It’s a return to seriousness.

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