The FBI will no longer participate in investigations into cases involving alleged assaults on immigration agents, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Instead, these investigations are being deferred to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), an arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), both overseen by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The FBI field offices were informed of this change on Thursday, July 16, 2026.

This shift follows fatal shootings by federal immigration officers earlier in July, including a July 7 incident in Houston where an ICE officer shot and killed a Mexican national who had lived in the U.S. for decades, and a July 13 shooting in Biddeford, Maine, involving ICE agents where a person was killed.

After concerns were raised, the FBI and the Civil Rights Division were ordered to take the lead on the probe of these incidents. Some cases were later dismissed after prosecutors reviewed the evidence.

The Department of Homeland Security publicly accused The New York Times of false reporting regarding claims that federal agents were told the FBI would no longer investigate confrontations with ICE officers. DHS stated that "the relationship between DHS and [the Justice Department] in investigating assault on federal officer cases has NOT changed, and [the FBI] will continue to investigate in accordance with agency policy."

DHS added, "This administration has been clear, anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

In response, Danielle Rhoades Ha, spokesperson for The New York Times, told Fox News Digital, "We're confident in the accuracy of our reporting, which revealed that Federal agents around the country were told in recent days that the F.B.I. would no longer investigate confrontations with immigration agents."

This public clash highlights differing accounts over the FBI's role in investigating assaults on immigration agents amid recent high-profile incidents.

Sources