Govind Tekale
The FBI has ordered its agents to spend a third of their time on immigration cases, marking a major shift away from investigating financial crimes. This change, starting May 2025, reflects the biggest transformation in how the agency uses its resources in recent years.
FBI-led teams have made 6,000 immigration-related arrests since January. In New York City, out of 193 federal agents assigned to immigration work, 86 will be FBI agents. Los Angeles will see 207 Justice Department agents switching to immigration duties.
Matthew Galeotti, who runs the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, laid out new rules for handling white-collar crime. His office will now zero in on healthcare fraud, trade cheating, and scams that target older adults. They’re also focusing on money laundering groups, especially those with international ties.
“Prosecution of individuals, as well as civil and administrative remedies directed at corporations, are often appropriate to address low-level corporate misconduct,” Galeotti stated, explaining how they’ll handle business wrongdoing.
This change reaches beyond the FBI. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and U.S. Marshals Service are joining the immigration enforcement efforts. President Trump wants 20,000 more officers at Homeland Security to boost these efforts.
The shift has created tension between federal and local authorities. In one striking case, federal agents arrested a judge for allegedly interfering with an immigration operation. Senator Dick Durbin pointed to this arrest as a troubling sign of aggressive enforcement.
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Companies under investigation might see changes in how cases are handled. The Justice Department now says businesses that report their own wrongdoing could avoid prosecution. This shift in corporate oversight has raised concerns about potential gaps in financial crime enforcement.
The Justice Department is also changing how it watches over companies caught breaking the law. They’ll only require independent monitors for businesses that can’t fix their problems on their own. Prosecutors must now move faster on financial crime cases and quickly drop investigations that aren’t getting results.
This dramatic change puts immigration at the heart of FBI work, alongside its other law enforcement responsibilities. While supporters say this helps border security, critics worry about leaving financial crimes unchecked.
These changes affect more than just paperwork and policies. They show a fundamental shift in how America’s top law enforcement agency spends its time and resources. As agents switch from tracking financial criminals to immigration enforcement, the impact of this decision will touch both Wall Street and Main Street.
