The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is stepping into uncharted territory. On September 4, 2025, the agency—best known for processing green cards, visas, and citizenship applications—announced a sweeping new initiative: it will create its own armed law enforcement division, granting USCIS agents the authority to make arrests, carry firearms, execute search and arrest warrants, and pursue suspects. This dramatic shift marks a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement, broadening the agency’s role from one of administrative review to active policing.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the plan involves training several hundred special agents, who will be empowered to investigate and arrest not only immigrants accused of fraud but also lawyers who help prepare allegedly fraudulent petitions. These agents will be permitted to arrest people for immigration violations or other criminal charges, and will be equipped with firearms. The move, as described by USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, is intended to "better address immigration crimes, hold those that perpetrate immigration fraud accountable, and act as a force multiplier for DHS and our federal law enforcement partners, including the Joint Terrorism Task Force."
Historically, USCIS has been the agency where immigrants could safely submit personal information and pursue legal pathways to residency and citizenship. Its traditional role was largely administrative, focused on adjudicating applications for citizenship, green cards, work visas, and asylum. Enforcement actions were typically the purview of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). But the new policy upends that division of labor. As reported by Reuters, USCIS agents will now investigate and prosecute immigration fraud cases themselves, freeing up ICE to focus on disrupting transnational crime and deporting undocumented immigrants.
Director Edlow was unequivocal about the agency’s new direction. "USCIS has always been an enforcement agency," he said in a statement, adding that the agency’s "historic moment" would allow it to "more efficiently clear its backlogs of aliens who seek to exploit our immigration system through fraud, prosecute them, and remove them from the country." The agency will also prioritize denaturalization cases, working alongside the Department of Justice to strip citizenship from individuals found to have lied on their applications.
The new special agents will undergo rigorous training similar to that required of ICE or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, including the use of nondeadly and deadly force and the authority to initiate vehicular pursuits of fleeing suspects. This places them on par with federal agents from the FBI and DEA. As the Washington Post notes, the expansion was made possible by a Trump administration executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to better leverage its resources in the ongoing immigration crackdown.
This isn’t the first time USCIS has dabbled in enforcement. The agency has long maintained an anti-fraud unit, but in the past, it typically developed leads and referred them to other agencies. Some criminal investigators—remnants from the old Immigration and Naturalization Service—remained within USCIS, but their focus was mainly on internal misconduct. Under recent Democratic administrations, these "gun toters" were quietly phased out. The new regulations reverse that trend, filling the agency’s ranks with armed agents and giving them a much broader mandate.
Edlow’s vision for the agency is ambitious. He explained to the Wall Street Journal that the new law enforcement body will investigate patterns of fraud, such as groups from the same country submitting nearly identical applications or applicants faking disabilities to avoid English proficiency tests. "I’m not expecting this to have a chilling effect on applications," Edlow said. "I’m expecting this to have a chilling effect on fraudulent applications, and that’s what I want."
But critics argue the new approach could have far-reaching and unintended consequences. Allen Orr Jr., former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, called the move "unlawful," insisting that "USCIS’ mandate is to adjudicate applications, not run raids. Trump’s expansion beyond traditional enforcement shatters the law’s clear limits." Andrea R. Flores, a former immigration policy adviser under both the Biden and Obama administrations, warned, "You really don’t have an immigration system if the agency that issues immigration benefits is now a third enforcement agency. Why would anyone come forward when the admin keeps penalizing people using the legal immigration system?"
Other immigration attorneys echoed these concerns. Jeff Joseph, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, stated, "The Trump Administration has transformed USCIS into an enforcement agency, weaponizing the immigration system against American families, asylum seekers, and businesses. The administration’s continued attacks on those who are following the rules and going through legal channels will only serve to push people further into the shadows."
The agency’s new enforcement posture comes amid a broader tightening of requirements for citizenship and legal residency. USCIS has begun scrutinizing applicants’ social media for what it deems "anti-American" activity, including alleged antisemitic posts, and is conducting "neighborhood checks" to verify an applicant’s "good moral character." In May, the agency announced it would immediately review immigrants’ social media accounts for activity that could be used as evidence to deny legal status, following guidance from other agencies targeting dissent related to Israel’s war in Gaza.
In a further departure from past practice, USCIS has barred voting rights and good government groups from participating in naturalization ceremonies, a move that voting advocates say undermines efforts to register new citizens to vote. The agency is also considering a new standardized citizenship test that would require applicants to write an essay answering, "What does it mean to me to be an American?" Director Edlow, speaking at an event hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies, declared, "What this comes down to is I am declaring war on fraud."
Supporters of the new initiative argue that it will help root out fraud and abuse in the immigration system, ensuring that only those who play by the rules are granted legal status. They point to the proliferation of scams and fraudulent applications as justification for giving USCIS a stronger enforcement hand. The agency’s new powers, they say, will help restore public confidence in the integrity of the immigration system.
Yet, the move has sparked alarm among immigrant rights advocates, attorneys, and former government officials who worry that the expansion of law enforcement powers will deter legitimate applicants from seeking legal status, further entrenching fear and mistrust in immigrant communities. As the debate rages on, one thing is clear: the lines between benefit administration and enforcement in U.S. immigration policy have never been more blurred.
This transformation of USCIS into a law enforcement agency marks a pivotal moment in the nation’s ongoing struggle to balance security, legality, and the promise of the American dream.
