New York Times reports FBI shift on ICE assault investigations

Federal oversight of immigration enforcement is under fresh scrutiny after The New York Times reported that FBI agents were told to stop investigating certain assault claims involving ICE officers. For the public, the stakes are straightforward: who investigates a shooting can shape whether evidence is reviewed by an outside agency or by the same department that employs the officers involved.

The Times reported that FBI managers received written notice of the change on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Some Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents around the country were then told about the shift by FBI counterparts, according to the Times.

The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security denied that any oversight change had taken place. In a joint statement provided to CNBC, the agencies said they remain partners in enforcing the law and protecting communities.

“The relationship between DHS and DOJ in investigating assault on federal officer cases has not changed, and FBI will continue to investigate in accordance with agency policy,” the agencies said in the statement.

What the reported change would affect

Under the Trump administration, the FBI has been responsible for reviewing fatal shootings involving ICE agents to assess whether agents had been assaulted before they fired, according to The New York Times. That matters because FBI investigations can generate evidence that may later be used in civil rights inquiries or prosecutions involving ICE personnel.

A civil rights investigation, in this context, examines whether a federal officer violated a person’s rights under federal law. The Times reported that if the FBI steps back from these assault investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, a division of ICE, would probably handle claims made by ICE agents about assaults against them.

People familiar with the issue told the Times that moving those reviews inside DHS could reduce accountability for immigration agents. The Times also reported that DHS does not have jurisdiction to investigate civil rights violations, which could make federal civil rights scrutiny less likely in cases where ICE agents shoot people who are unarmed.

Those claims are disputed by DOJ and DHS, which said the FBI’s role has not changed.

Recent ICE shootings add pressure

The reported guidance comes after ICE agents were involved in two fatal shootings in July. On Monday, an ICE agent shot and killed Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a Colombian man, in Biddeford, Maine, according to CNBC. Earlier in the month, on July 7, an ICE agent shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican immigrant, in Houston, CNBC reported.

CNBC reported that Guerrero was at least the seventh person shot by ICE agents since January 2025.

The dispute now centers on whether a procedural change has actually occurred, and if so, how it would affect accountability after violent encounters involving immigration officers. The Times says FBI personnel and ICE agents were informed of a shift. DOJ and DHS say the FBI will continue to investigate under agency policy.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.