Reported FBI guidance would curb probes tied to ICE confrontations
The New York Times reported the FBI would stop investigating certain ICE-related confrontations, a change DHS and DOJ deny.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Federal agents have been told the FBI will no longer investigate confrontations involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, according to The New York Times. The reported shift matters because it could move sensitive reviews of ICE conduct to an ICE-linked office instead of the FBI.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice denied to The Times that there had been a policy change. The report comes as ICE faces renewed scrutiny over the use of force by its agents.
According to The Verge, ICE agents killed two people in the past two weeks in incidents in Maine and Texas. The Verge also reported that those deaths followed other civilian fatalities involving ICE agents, and that the agency has tried to intimidate witnesses after recent high-profile killings.
What the reported change would do
The Times reported that the new guidance would stop FBI investigations into assault allegations involving DHS agents. Those cases have often centered on protesters or others accused of making physical contact with federal agents, according to The Times.
The federal government has pursued felony assault charges in some cases involving brief or unintended contact with agents, The Times reported. A Times analysis found that nearly half of such cases ended with an acquittal, dismissal or withdrawal of charges.
Although the FBI’s role in those matters can help prosecutors build cases against civilians, The Verge reported that the investigations can also produce evidence about agents’ conduct. That evidence could later matter in proceedings against officers.
Under the change described by The Times, cases involving federal immigration officers would likely go to Homeland Security Investigations. HSI is part of ICE, meaning the agency would be positioned to review incidents involving its own personnel.
The Times reported that HSI does not have authority to investigate civil rights violations. As a result, the shift could make it less likely that shootings of unarmed people by ICE agents would be examined as possible violations of federal law, according to The Times.
Accountability concerns
The reported guidance would narrow the role of an outside federal law enforcement agency in cases tied to ICE operations. The Verge characterized the practical effect as leaving ICE with far more control over investigations involving its agents.
DHS and DOJ’s denials leave the status of the guidance contested. The Times report, however, describes a change that would affect both prosecutions of alleged assaults on federal agents and potential scrutiny of the agents’ own actions.
The controversy also highlights the overlap between immigration enforcement and federal criminal investigations. According to The Times and The Verge, that overlap has become more contentious as ICE operations have drawn attention for deadly encounters, aggressive prosecution of protesters and questions about whether agents face independent review.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.