Fentanyl investigations and seizures fell as ICE agents were diverted to Trump immigration push, DHS watchdog finds
Fentanyl investigations and seizures by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement fell sharply during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, as Homeland Security Investigations redirected agents to arrest operations and stepped back from drug cases, according to a new federal watchdog report.
The shift stemmed from a decision by the Department of Homeland Security to surge federal law enforcement personnel into immigration arrests as part of President Donald Trump’s border enforcement drive. That move pulled in agents from HSI, the ICE branch responsible for dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and disrupted the agency’s work on fentanyl trafficking.
The report said HSI, under tremendous pressure to meet quotas imposed by the White House, pivoted much of its work in fiscal year 2025 to immigration arrests. In some field offices, the pivot was nearly complete: one office reported that about 99 percent of its work was dedicated to immigration, leaving little room for fentanyl investigations.
“In FY 2025, Department priorities shifted toward immigration enforcement. Accordingly, HSI prioritized immigration enforcement over fentanyl-related criminal investigations,” the watchdog wrote.
The audit, conducted from March 2025 through May 2026, found that HSI agents spent roughly 31 percent fewer hours on fentanyl investigations in FY 2025 than in the previous year. That decline followed several years of increasing focus on fentanyl between FY 2022 and FY 2024. At the same time, hours devoted to immigration enforcement rose by more than 1.7 million, an increase of over 800 percent — the largest uptick among all investigative categories.
The reallocation had an immediate effect on enforcement outcomes. The number of new fentanyl investigations opened by HSI fell by 24 percent year over year in FY 2025, according to the report. One field office saw its caseload drop from 30 investigations in FY 2024 to 13 in FY 2025. Fentanyl seizures also declined: HSI’s seizures decreased 39 percent in FY 2025, even as the Drug Enforcement Administration announced several record-breaking fentanyl seizures in 2025.
Interviews with agents across the country described an “all-hands” approach to the administration’s immigration push. One drug investigation team that normally had seven agents was pared down to two or three because personnel were reassigned to immigration cases, the report said.
Beyond the shift in priorities, the audit identified other weaknesses in HSI’s fentanyl work: outdated technology, insufficient funding and inconsistent case referrals from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A DHS spokesperson told CNN the agency is “working closely with the Department to track metrics and execute goals to assess how well ICE-HSI is combating fentanyl.” The spokesperson added that an action plan was launched in fiscal year 2026 as an Agency Priority Goal, setting key milestones for combating fentanyl.
The inspector general issued four recommendations to ICE, and the agency concurred with all of them. That includes a required review of staffing levels “to ensure an appropriate level of coverage commensurate with the relative priority of fentanyl investigations.” ICE HSI agreed to conduct the staffing review and determine next steps, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2027.
The findings underscore how the administration’s border-enforcement mandate has affected federal agencies beyond the border itself, forcing a reprioritization of resources that current and former officials say could undercut efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States.