DHS head Kristi Noem requests Treasury Sec deputize IRS agents to help with deportations

A memo from February 7 from DHS Secreatary Kristi Noem was sent to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent requesting that IRS agents help in the deportation effort with DHS. The agents would be investigating the financial flow of human trafficking networks as well as businesses in the US that use illegal immigrants for labor, per the Wall Street Journal.

"It is DHS’s understanding that the Department of 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 wrote in the memo. President Joe Biden had hired an additional 80,000 IRS agents to go after Americans who are tax evaders. Trump said since taking office that agents could be repurposed to remove criminals rather than track down Americans over their tax bills.

IRS Agents would be able to help arrest and detain illegal immigrants as well as help transport them. The request is part of the Trump administration's larger effort to deport illegal immigrants in the country, with those who are threats to public safety being the priority.

The Trump administration has been pushing to have more law enforcement agencies work in the deportation effort, and a similar memo was handed down to agencies at the Department of Justice such as the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms; and Explosives, as well as the US Marshals Service.

The IRS has around 2,300 agents that are involved in the law enforcement division that will be able to help in the effort. Although the IRS law enforcement officers are different from the revenue agents at the organization as they can make arrests, carry firearms, and do investigations related to criminal tax evasion and other financial crimes.