The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) secretary deputized up to 600 law enforcement officers from the State Department to become immigration enforcement officers, according to a memo signed on Tuesday and a news release.
“I hereby authorize the special agents of the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) to perform the following functions of an immigration officer,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in her memo.
The functions include investigating, apprehending, and determining the location of illegal immigrants, as well as enforcing requirements of related immigration statutes or regulations, according to the directive.
In the memo, Noem also thanked the DSS staff for the “opportunity to partner together as the entire administration works to implement” President Donald Trump’s policies and agenda.
A news release issued on Thursday by DHS said that “up to 600” DSS agents “across the country” were deputized to assist in immigration enforcement efforts, a pillar of Trump’s 2024 campaign. Other details about the functions the deputized DSS staff would perform were not detailed in the memo or news release.
“Under President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security will use every tool and resource available to secure our border and get criminal illegal aliens out of our country,” Noem said in a statement. “The safety of American citizens comes first.”
The release also noted that DHS had deputized employees with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the IRS to partake in immigration enforcement activities.
DSS staff are involved in leading “worldwide security and law enforcement efforts to advance U.S. foreign policy and safeguard national security interests,” according to the State Department. Established in 1985 in response to terrorist attacks, including the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon, the DSS has more than 2,500 agents, officers, and other employees who travel around the world.
During his presidential campaign, Trump said mass deportations of illegal immigrants would be one of his priorities if he were elected. Immediately after he took office, Trump signed a range of orders bolstering security on the U.S.–Mexico border and designating Mexican cartels as global terrorist organizations and has ramped up efforts to deport illegal aliens.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told CNN earlier this week that he currently is “not happy” with the pace of immigration arrests and said that the administration has “got to do more.” However, he noted that ICE’s arrests in the interior of the United States are two and a half times higher than the same time last year under the Biden administration.
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