Nearly a quarter of the FBI’s more than 13,000 special agents across the United States have been reassigned from their usual criminal investigations and national security work to focus on immigration enforcement, according to new data released this week by Senator Mark Warner. The dramatic shift, which has seen agents who once specialized in cybercrimes, terrorism, drug trafficking, and counterintelligence redirected to assist the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) immigration crackdown, has sent ripples through the bureau and prompted concerns about the agency’s mission and morale.
Senator Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, shared the FBI’s internal figures with The Washington Post on October 8, 2025. The data show that nearly 25 percent of agents nationwide are currently assigned to immigration enforcement, helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) locate and arrest people as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. In some of the country’s largest field offices, the proportion of agents diverted to immigration work rises to as high as 40 percent, Warner’s office confirmed.
“This is the first time we’ve seen the scope of the FBI’s mission drift quantified so clearly,” Warner told The Washington Post. “The numbers may even understate the reality, since the data only count agents spending at least half their work hours on immigration enforcement. The true figure could be higher.”
The Trump administration has made no secret of its intent to use every available federal resource to pursue aggressive immigration enforcement. But the scale of the FBI’s redirection—pulling agents from ongoing investigations into organized crime, cyber threats, terrorism, and more—has caught many within the bureau off guard. Current and former FBI officials, speaking to The Washington Post and The Independent, described a sharp decline in morale as agents find themselves pulled away from the complex investigative work that drew them to the agency in the first place.
“We are weakening ourselves day by day,” said Chris O’Leary, a former FBI senior executive and special agent, in a statement to The Washington Post. “Having agents walk the beat and conduct immigration arrests is really a misuse of exquisite ability.”
According to the reports, the reassigned agents are not just helping ICE with paperwork—they are actively involved in locating, arresting, and processing individuals targeted for removal. The shift has left many field offices stretched thin, with agents forced to balance their traditional responsibilities with their new immigration-focused roles. Some, particularly in Washington, D.C., have reportedly been working overnight shifts multiple times a week to keep up with both their regular caseloads and the demands of the immigration crackdown.
Despite the mounting workload and concerns from within, FBI Director Kash Patel has defended the bureau’s new priorities. Under Patel’s leadership, there has also been an uptick in the number of agents assigned to investigate local violent crime, a move he says is necessary to address surging violence in major cities. In a statement released by his office and reported by The Independent, Patel insisted that the reassignments have not hampered the FBI’s effectiveness in its other core missions.
“We have made more counterintelligence- and drug trafficking-related arrests under my tenure than during the same period last year,” Patel’s office claimed. A spokesperson for the FBI’s Washington Field Office echoed this sentiment, telling The Independent, “As the FBI Washington Field Office participates in the federal law enforcement surge to crush violent crime in Washington, D.C., WFO agents, analysts, and other personnel continue to maintain the office’s high operational tempo to protect the National Capital Region from national security and criminal threats.”
Yet, sources inside the bureau paint a different picture. Agents are reportedly feeling stretched to the breaking point, with the increased workload leading to slowdowns on more complicated cases. Some fear retaliation from President Trump and other lawmakers if they are perceived as resisting the administration’s new priorities or if they continue to pursue politically sensitive investigations.
That fear was underscored by a recent high-profile firing at the bureau. According to The Independent, Director Patel dismissed three agents who had allegedly obtained phone records for nine Republican lawmakers during the Biden administration as part of an investigation into Trump’s alleged attempt to overturn the 2024 election. The move came after Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley publicly demanded consequences for those involved, describing the investigation as a “violation of personal property and people’s rights and the law and their constitutional rights.”
Patel, speaking to Fox News, was unapologetic about the dismissals. “You’re darn right I fired those agents,” he said. “We’re just warming up. We are running our investigations to the ground. We’re finding every single person involved.”
While Patel’s supporters argue the firings are necessary to restore trust and discipline within the FBI, critics see them as a warning to agents who might push back against the administration’s agenda. The episode has only deepened concerns about the bureau’s independence and the potential chilling effect on sensitive investigations.
Meanwhile, the FBI’s expanded role in local violent crime investigations has also drawn scrutiny. Although the agency has always assisted in violent felony cases, the current surge in assignments is unprecedented, according to sources cited by The Independent. Some agents worry that the dual demands of fighting violent crime and enforcing immigration laws are unsustainable in the long term, especially as the bureau’s resources are already stretched.
Despite these challenges, the FBI’s leadership maintains that the agency remains fully committed to its traditional missions. “Our agents continue to execute their duties with professionalism and dedication, even as the nature of those duties evolves,” the Washington, D.C. field office spokesperson said.
As the debate continues over the FBI’s shifting focus, lawmakers and law enforcement experts are watching closely. Some warn that the bureau’s new direction could have lasting consequences for national security and the effectiveness of federal law enforcement. Others, particularly those aligned with the Trump administration, argue that the changes are necessary to restore order and enforce the nation’s immigration laws.
For the agents on the ground, however, the reality is far less clear-cut. Many are left grappling with the demands of their new assignments, the loss of work they once found meaningful, and the uncertain future of the agency they serve. As one veteran agent told The Washington Post, “We joined the FBI to protect the country from real threats, not to become another arm of immigration enforcement. I just hope we don’t lose sight of what makes the bureau essential.”
