
FBI Moving Resources from Crime and Immigration to Terrorism Due to Israel/Iran War Fallout
The FBI is reallocating resources from countering violent crimes and illegal immigration to counterterrorism cases due to expected blowback from the war against Iran, bureau director Kash Patel said Monday, June 23, 2025.
“Not to take away from the other priorities of the administration—getting rid of criminals in our communities, illegals in our communities—but right now, the focus, given the nature of what just happened, has to be on protecting the homeland,” Patel said at the National Sheriffs’ Association conference in Florida.
CBS News reported that a memo was distributed to FBI field office directors, instructing them to focus on domestic and international terror threats. A separate memo from U.S. Customs and Border Protection stated that the threat of sleeper cells has "never been higher," although specific intelligence is lacking.
This marks a pivot from Patel’s previous focus on violent crime and illegal immigration. Sources within the FBI alleged they were previously pressured to maximize immigration arrests.
The renewed counterterrorism focus may lead to increased use of controversial undercover operations. Investigative journalist Trevor Aaronson, in The Terror Factory, documented that nearly half of post-9/11 terror cases involving Muslims were initiated by FBI informants.
Headline USA has highlighted recent cases, including one where an informant posing as a pro-Iranian terrorist earned over $600,000 from the bureau. (HLUSA/VFI News)
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