Dept. of Justice memo addresses FBI support with immigration enforcement

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Following an announcement made by FBI Anchorage on Monday regarding its support of the Department of Homeland Security with immigration enforcement efforts throughout the state, Alaska’s News Source has obtained a memorandum from the Department of Justice that outlines the terms of that support.

Issued by the DOJ’s Acting Deputy Attorney General, the Jan. 21 memorandum states that the changes were in response to Executive Orders recently made by President Trump and what was categorized as the “three most serious threats” facing Americans: cartels, the violent crimes cartels commit, and the fentanyl crisis.

The memorandum states that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces are directed to coordinate with DHS, as well as state and local members, to assist in the execution of President Trump’s immigration-self-related initiatives. That includes reviewing files to identify information regarding non-citizens located illegally in the U.S.

“All such information and data shall be disclosed to DHS, for the sole purpose of facilitating appropriate removals, enforcement actions, and immigration-related investigations and prosecutions, unless the agency possessing the information and data determines that a particular disclosure would compromise a significant law enforcement investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office participating in the investigation concurs in writing with the agency’s non-disclosure determination,” the memorandum states.

FBI Anchorage shared photos via the social media platform “X” that were taken over the past weekend of immigration enforcement as part of the collaboration.

On Jan. 29, President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, his first piece of legislation that federally mandates the detention of illegal immigrants who are accused of theft, burglary, assaulting police, and any crime that results in death or serious injury.

The Laken Riley Act takes its name after a Georgia nursing student who was killed by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant who had previously been arrested and paroled into the U.S. under the Biden administration.

FBI Anchorage and the Department of Homeland Security Regional Office in Seattle would not confirm whether the recent support was a direct result of the passage of the Laken Riley Act. Both agencies also declined to confirm whether the memorandum was behind the Anchorage office’s Monday announcement, however, FBI Anchorage issued the following statement:

“We have a long-established relationship of working with DHS on a variety of matters. We’re standing side-by-side with them to assist in their immigration enforcement operations as well. The FBI’s support may vary depending on what DHS needs, including support with field operations.”

On Tuesday the FBI issued a statement via its website to address a number of topics, one of which being the support of Homeland Security with immigration enforcement.

FBI Acting Director Brian Driscoll said the FBI has been working “tirelessly” to keep Americans safe, both at home and abroad.

“That includes all the work we’ve been doing to support Homeland Security in its immigration enforcement efforts,” Driscoll said. “We’ve got special agents, intelligence analysts, and more supporting DHS teams across the country - from New York and Chicago to El Paso, Newark, and Denver. So far, this work has led to the arrest of dangerous criminals and terrorists all across the country, and we’ve taken illegal firearms off the streets and out of our communities.”

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com