Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called on the Treasury to deputize some law-enforcement agents, including criminal investigators at the Internal Revenue Service, to assist with the Trump administration's deportation efforts, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In a Feb. 7 memo viewed by the Journal, Noem asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to provide agents to help probe the financial movements of human-trafficking networks and companies that employ people who are in the country illegally. Those agents would be authorized to help arrest and transport detainees.
According to the Journal, Noem's request is part of a broader effort by the Republican administration to deputize law-enforcement officials at a number of federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the U.S. Marshals Service.
There are 2,290 special agents at the IRS' criminal-investigation division, according to its most recent annual report, a 10% increase since 2022. In 2022, the then-Democrat-controlled Congress voted to expand the agency and provide it with more resources for enforcement.
Republican lawmakers opposed the IRS expansion and Trump has made several comments about sending IRS agents to work at the border. He promised to conduct the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. Immigration and Customs Enforcement netted several thousand criminal migrants in the first couple weeks of Trump's second presidency.
Distinct from the IRS' revenue agents and revenue officers, IRS criminal investigators are law-enforcement officers who are frequently armed and can make arrests. They investigate financial crimes like tax evasion and often collaborate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other federal agencies when tracking financial movements.
In 2024, IRS criminal investigators found $2.1 billion in tax fraud and $7 billion in other financial offenses, according to the annual report.
IRS acting Commissioner Douglas O'Donnell is currently running the agency, while Trump's nominee, former Missouri Congressman Billy Long, awaits confirmation by the Senate.