Trump Moves IRS Agents To Border In Effort To Strengthen Deportation Operations

President Donald Trump has ordered Internal Revenue Service (IRS) criminal investigators to assist at the southern border, expanding federal efforts to remove illegal immigrants. The move, part of his administration’s intensified crackdown on illegal immigration, was revealed in a memo from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The request asks for Treasury Department law enforcement personnel, including armed IRS criminal investigators, to be deputized to support border enforcement. These agents, typically focused on financial crimes such as money laundering and tax fraud, will now assist in identifying human trafficking networks and businesses employing illegal workers.

DHS officials have said that IRS agents will help detain investigate, and transport individuals caught entering the country illegally. While their primary expertise is in financial crimes, these investigators have arrest authority and firearms training, making them suitable for the expanded role.

Trump has long criticized the Biden administration’s handling of illegal immigration and has vowed to reverse lax enforcement policies. In his first weeks back in office, his administration has already increased deportation efforts, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arresting over 11,000 illegal immigrants in just 18 days.

The decision to use IRS agents follows Trump’s earlier comments suggesting that instead of targeting taxpayers, the IRS should be redirected to securing the border. In 2021, Biden approved the hiring of nearly 87,000 IRS employees, a move Trump and other Republicans opposed.

As part of his broader immigration plan, Trump has also shut down the Biden-era CBP One app and repealed restrictions that limited ICE agents’ ability to apprehend and detain illegal immigrants.