U.S. immigration oversight shift raises scrutiny over ICE shooting investigations

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ICE investigation oversight shift

Highlights

The New York Times reports the FBI will no longer investigate ICE assault claims, shifting oversight to Homeland Security Investigations and raising concerns over reduced accountability.
The Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security deny any oversight change, stating the FBI will continue investigating assault on federal officer cases per agency policy.
This policy dispute follows ICE agents fatally shooting at least seven people since January 2025, including Joan Sebastian Guerrero and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in July.

Reported change in investigative handling

As reported by CNBC, citing The New York Times, ICE agents recently are told the FBI will no longer investigate claims of assault against federal officers in cases involving the agency. Sources told the newspaper that FBI managers receive written notice of the change on Thursday, and that some ICE agents across the country are informed by FBI counterparts.

Under the Trump administration, the FBI has been tasked in incidents involving fatal shootings by ICE agents with determining whether the agents are assaulted before opening fire. Evidence uncovered during those inquiries can later be used in civil rights investigations or prosecutions against ICE agents.

The reported guidance would likely leave Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of ICE, to examine such assault claims involving its own agents. Sources cited by the Times say that arrangement could reduce accountability for immigration agents.

DOJ and DHS deny any oversight change

The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security deny that any shift in oversight has taken place. In a joint statement provided to CNBC, the agencies say they remain partners in addressing crime and upholding the rule of law while protecting U.S. communities.

"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," the agencies say.

The dispute over the reported policy change emerges days after an ICE agent shoots and kills Colombian man Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine. The article says it is at least the seventh person shot by ICE agents since January 2025, and the second this month after an agent shoots and kills Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston on July 7.

Our earlier report on the Justice Department’s subpoenas to major U.S. law firms detailed how the DOJ demanded internal communications and senior-leader testimony tied to settlement talks over Trump-era executive orders. We noted that firms that reached deals—often involving large pro bono commitments and pullbacks in diversity programs—could face greater exposure than those that fought the orders in court, as the legal sector weighed compliance, client pressure, and reputational risk.

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