FBI Makes Major Shift: Agents Pulled from Immigration Duties Amid Growing Iran Retaliation Fears

Washington, D.C., — The FBI is making an urgent course correction—and it’s all about safety at home.

In the wake of U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites just 24 hours ago, federal law enforcement is sounding the alarm. Intelligence officials are now worried that Iran could strike back—not just overseas, but right here in the United States. In response, the FBI is quickly pulling back hundreds, possibly thousands, of agents who had been assigned to help with immigration enforcement.

Instead, those agents are being sent back to their original—and critical—roles in counterterrorism, cybercrime, and national security investigations.

“After what just happened with Iran, we can’t afford to have our top experts distracted,” said one federal official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We need all hands on deck for what could come next.”

Over the past few months, the FBI had been quietly rotating agents into immigration duties, especially in cities dealing with the massive influx of migrants. But that’s changing fast. Field offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Philadelphia have already canceled these assignments, making it clear that national security is now priority number one.

The shift also sends a message to critics who had warned that the FBI’s involvement in immigration raids was spreading resources too thin. Many inside the agency had expressed concern that focusing too much on the border left the U.S. vulnerable to cyberattacks and sleeper cells from hostile nations.

Now, with Iran in the spotlight and threats looming large, it seems those warnings were taken seriously.

The Department of Homeland Security has also issued fresh alerts, warning of increased cyber risks and potential hate crimes. Law enforcement agencies across the country are bracing for possible retaliation, including from individuals who may already be in the U.S.

This move effectively halts the Biden administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement campaign—at least for now. That plan had aimed for 3,000 migrant arrests a day, backed heavily by political strategist Stephen Miller. But with the latest developments, national security appears to be back in the driver’s seat.

“It’s a wake-up call,” the official added. “Right now, protecting Americans from real threats has to come first.”