The Department of Homeland Security is seeking the assistance of the IRS to help expel illegal immigrants from the country.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is asking the Treasury Department to deputize its IRS agents to help augment the Trump administration’s efforts to carry out more deportations.
“Instead of having Biden’s 87,000 IRS agents take more money from Americans, I have requested that they help taxpayers SAVE money by helping ICE round up criminal illegal aliens for deportation,” Noem said in a post on X.
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Noem said her department needs more resources to find illegal immigrants and investigate trafficking networks.
“It is DHS’s understanding that the Department of the Treasury has qualified law enforcement personnel available to assist with immigration enforcement, especially in light of recent increases to the Internal Revenue Service’s work force and budget,” Noem’s letter states.
Illegal immigration into the United States has plummeted under Trump, with attention instead diverted to deporting those who were able to enter the U.S. previously. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been performing raids all across the country, but their personnel are insufficient for Trump to deliver his promised largest deportation operation in history.
The IRS is just the latest of several agencies not specifically aimed at immigration that the Trump administration has enlisted for help.
In a January memo from acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman obtained by the Wall Street Journal, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service were among the agencies granted deportation powers. According to a person familiar with the matter, Trump administration officials planned on borrowing agents from the Justice Department to carry out deportation plans.
Last month’s memo also stressed that the FBI already has deportation powers, though their use is rare.
The work of the DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, and other agencies mentioned in the memo occasionally overlaps with the immigration issue but not on a significant scale.
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Congress is also moving to redirect IRS resources to tackle immigration. The Securing Our Border Act, unveiled on Friday, would redirect all unobligated funding that Democrats gave the IRS to enhancing border security. Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-SC) office told the Washington Examiner that the total should amount to $22.4 billion.
“President [Joe] Biden’s ill-advised decision to supercharge the IRS while we had a crisis on our southern border couldn’t have been more out-of-touch or unnecessary,” Scott said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “In just two weeks back in office, President Trump has signaled to the world that he is serious about securing our border and restoring peace and order in our communities. By redirecting these funds, we are taking steps to protect our national sovereignty and keep Americans safe.”