DEA agents now have the power to make arrests for deportations – as Trump spreads federal authority to push his plans
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The FBI already has immigration-enforcement powers via Title 8 authority, but the agency typically focuses on criminal investigations. Donald Trump is reportedly trying to extend deportation power to federal agents outside of the Department of Homeland Security.
![[Trump is sending 1,500 active duty troops to the southern border]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/22/22/Mexico_US_Deportation_Preparation_26945.jpg)
The memo also noted that FBI agents already possess immigration-enforcement powers — called Title 8 authority — but the agents typically stick to criminal investigations. A person familiar with the memo told the Wall Street Journal that the Trump administration wasn't planning to immediately deputize agents for anti-immigration crackdowns, but did expect agencies to lend agents.
The ATF and DEA don't typically deal with immigration enforcement. The US Marshals do more often, but generally only when a fugitive also happens to be illegally in the US. The Department of Homeland Security is reportedly forming task forces to ensure local and state law enforcement are enforcing immigration laws.
Trump has already threatened to restart immigration raids in cities like San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, New York City, and others. Those troops will join the 2,500 troops that were already stationed at the border as part of the Joint Task Forth North out of El Paso, Texas.
Texas Governor Gregg Abbott's existing border force, Operation Lone Star, is also in the El Paso area. Abbott has forced members of the state's National Guard to sit at the border for the last several years. The mass deportations that Trump seems to be moving towards have prompted Mexican authorities to start construction on a massive shelter to house deportees. The shelter is being built by the Mexican Navy and municipal employees along the Mexico-Texas border in Matamoros.
