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PoliticsNYT: FBI to stop investigating ICE assault claims; DOJ, DHS deny policy change
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According to a New York Times report, FBI managers have been notified that the bureau will no longer investigate assault claims against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The change would shift oversight to Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of ICE, potentially reducing accountability for immigration agents, as DHS lacks jurisdiction over civil rights violations. The report comes after ICE agents shot and killed two people in July 2026, including a Colombian man in Maine. The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security jointly denied any change in policy, stating that the FBI will continue to investigate in accordance with agency policy. The purported shift could affect future civil rights investigations into ICE shootings.
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The badge of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have recently been informed that the FBI will no longer investigate claims of assault against federal officers, according to a report by The New York Times.
Key Developments
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents have received notice that the FBI will no longer investigate assault claims against immigration agents, The New York Times reports.
- The Department of Justice (DOJ) and DHS have both denied the report.
- ICE agents shot and killed two people in July, including a Colombian man in Maine on Monday.
Details of the Reported Policy Change
On Thursday, FBI managers received written notice of the change, sources told the Times, and some ICE agents throughout the country were informed by their FBI counterparts.
In incidents where ICE agents have been involved in fatal shootings, the FBI under the Trump administration has been tasked with determining whether the agents were assaulted before opening fire. However, evidence revealed during those investigations could later be used in civil rights investigations or prosecutions against ICE agents.
The new guidance would likely mean that Homeland Security Investigations—an arm of ICE—would investigate such assault claims by their own agents, according to the Times. Allowing DHS to handle those investigations could lead to less accountability for immigration agents, sources told the NYT.
Since DHS does not have the jurisdiction to investigate civil rights violations, the policy change could lessen the likelihood that ICE agents who shoot unarmed people would be investigated for breaking federal law.
Official Denials
The Department of Justice and DHS have both denied that any change in oversight has taken place.
"The Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security are partners in addressing crime and upholding the rule of law, while securing the safety and security of American communities," the DHS and DOJ said in a joint statement provided to CNBC.
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"The relationship between DHS and DOJ in investigating assault on federal officer cases has not changed, and FBI will continue to investigate in accordance with agency policy."
Recent ICE Shootings
The purported change in oversight comes just days after an ICE agent shot and killed a Colombian man, Joan Sebastian Guerrero, in Biddeford, Maine. It was at least the seventh person shot by ICE agents since January 2025, and the second person just this month after an agent shot and killed Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston on July 7.
Read the complete New York Times report here.
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FBI to Stop Investigating ICE Assault Claims, NYT Reports; Agencies Deny Change