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The Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown has pulled resources from many other kinds of crime fighting, The New York Times reported, including gun law enforcement—with seizures of illegal weapons down 73 percent from last year.
The report was based on unreleased documents from Homeland Security Investigations, the agency’s crime-fighting arm. It also said that enforcement against other crimes, such as drug trafficking, financial fraud, and trafficking of child sexual material, has taken a back seat to rounding up and deporting undocumented immigrants.
The Times had previously reported that H.S.I.’s investigations into major crimes, including child exploitation and terrorism financing, had faltered after special agents were ordered to assist with the immigration crackdown. Dozens of officials who have worked under the current Trump administration said the shifts had hindered their case work.
Other federal agencies that combat drug and weapons smuggling have also devoted resources to the immigration crackdown: The F.B.I., the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have reassigned thousands of agents to help arrest undocumented immigrants, according to documents reviewed by The Times.