By Steve Neavling
The FBI is directing agents to devote more of their time to immigration enforcement while scaling back white-collar crime investigations, according to four people familiar with the matter, Reuters reports.
Agents were told in meetings this week to spend roughly a third of their time helping carry out the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Investigations into corporate and financial crimes are being deprioritized for at least the rest of 2025, the sources said.
The shift comes as the Justice Department issued new guidance Monday narrowing the scope of white-collar cases it will pursue. The memo, signed by Criminal Division chief Matthew Galeotti, emphasizes minimizing the duration and impact of investigations and scaling back the use of corporate monitors.
While the FBI has historically focused on public corruption, foreign bribery, and financial fraud, those areas are now being deemphasized. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have already moved to curtail efforts in prosecuting foreign influence and kleptocracy.
Under the new guidance, prosecutors are encouraged to prioritize health care fraud, trade and customs fraud, complex money laundering, and cases involving terrorism financing or transnational criminal groups. The department is also expanding its whistleblower rewards program to cover cases involving immigration law violations, sanctions offenses, and cartel-linked activity.
The memo urges prosecutors to weigh alternatives to corporate criminal charges when addressing minor misconduct and recommends independent monitors only when companies can’t be trusted to comply on their own.
The FBI declined to comment on the policy change, and it remains unclear how widely the new directive applies across field offices.
