By Steve Neavling
The FBI is reassigning agents back to counterterrorism after previously diverting them to immigration enforcement, following growing concerns about potential threats from Iran, according to sources familiar with the move, NBC News reports.
Assistant Director Don Holstead recently directed agents working in counterterrorism, cybercrime, and counterintelligence to return to their core duties. The decision comes as U.S. officials monitor for possible retaliation from Iran after American military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Iranian officials have reportedly warned that sleeper cells could be activated within the U.S. in response.
The FBI declined to comment on the operational shift but said in a statement, “We continuously assess and realign our resources to respond to the most pressing threats to our national security and to ensure the safety of the American people.”
Under the Trump administration, FBI agents, including those focused on national security, were required to assist Homeland Security in immigration-related operations, raising alarm within the bureau. Critics warned the diversion left the FBI stretched thin and less prepared for national security threats.
“The counterterrorism mission has been fundamentally redefined to treat drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” one FBI employee told NBC News. “That has consumed huge resources across the FBI field and at HQ and at DOJ.”
While the FBI has about 38,000 employees, only a portion are agents, making any large-scale shift in focus significant.
“It will only take one crisis to really stress the system,” another agent said. “On the terrorism front, I think the only way we will see the impact, unfortunately, is when something bad happens.”
Some inside the bureau welcomed the refocus on terrorism.
“Guess they are realizing this whole national security thing is important, after all,” one agent remarked.
At the Department of Homeland Security, similar concerns are growing. A senior official said DHS has cut or reassigned much of its counterterrorism team since Trump returned to office. Internal meetings on terrorism threats were scaled back or canceled, and staff focused on preventing ideologically motivated violence were let go or moved.
“The focus is immigration and not counterterrorism,” the official said.
