Drug and Weapons Seizures Plunge as DHS Shifts Agents to Immigration Crackdown, Internal Data Shows

Drug and weapons seizures by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) dropped sharply over the past fiscal year as the Department of Homeland Security reassigned special agents from complex criminal cases to support President Trump's expanded immigration enforcement effort, according to internal data reviewed by The New York Times.

The report shows that narcotics arrests fell by about 11 percent, new narcotics investigations declined by 15 percent, and weapons seizures dropped from nearly 41,400 to fewer than 11,200 — a 73 percent decrease. At the same time, civil immigration arrests by HSI surged from about 5,000 to more than 94,500 as agents were shifted to locate and detain undocumented immigrants.

The report compares the period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, with the previous fiscal year, a span that includes four months under the Biden administration and eight months under Trump. Current and former officials told the outlet that the shift responded to sustained White House pressure to increase deportations.

Although overall criminal arrests rose 41 percent to more than 46,000, roughly 12,000 of those arrests were not categorized by crime type, making it unclear which investigations accounted for the increase. The report also indicates that HSI opened considerably fewer "significant cases," such as those involving global drug and weapons networks, and that indictments remained flat despite the rise in total arrests. Agents reported assisting 20 percent fewer human trafficking victims.

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HSI, ICE's criminal investigations arm, typically handles transnational crime including drug smuggling, financial fraud, child exploitation, and terrorism financing. Another ICE division, Enforcement and Removal Operations, traditionally handles immigration enforcement. The new data highlights how deeply HSI has been drawn into deportation operations.

In a message to staff, HSI's acting leader, John A. Condon, called the increase in immigration arrests a "monumental achievement" while White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the data showed "success," arguing that declines in specific crime categories can fluctuate year-to-year and accusing The Times of "cherry-picking."

The findings echo a broader pattern described in another recent New York Times investigation, which found that DHS had diverted thousands of federal agents from investigations into child exploitation, terrorism financing, human trafficking, and illicit Iranian oil sales to staff immigration operations. In some cases, long-running investigations stalled as agents were temporarily reassigned.

Administration officials have defended the strategy, saying immigration enforcement is integral to combating crime and protecting national security. Internal data reviewed by The Times shows that fewer than 40 percent of people detained by ICE had criminal convictions in the United States.

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