Federal law enforcement is being redirected toward immigration enforcement, reducing focus on online child sexual exploitation investigations. Agents in departments that handle child safety are being reassigned or given additional caseloads. Prosecutors are increasingly spread thin, limiting capacity to pursue complex online child-abuse cases. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has historically been central to investigating child exploitation. HSI sought separate branding from ICE to avoid stigma associated with immigration enforcement. Reports indicate thousands of federal agents, including HSI personnel, have been instructed to prioritize administration objectives such as border security and immigration enforcement. The reallocation of personnel risks undermining investigations into exploited children online.
Current and former government employees tell The Verge that the Trump administration's laser focus on border security threatens to strain investigations into online crimes against children. Agents, including in departments that work on child safety, are being reassigned or given extra caseloads. Prosecutors are finding themselves spread thin. One former agent at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), who like others in this article was granted anonymity to discuss the inner workings of government agencies,
HSI, a subdivision of the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has long played a key role in investigating child exploitation crimes. The agency fought for and secured distinct branding from ICE last year, "to work without the undue toxicity that in some places comes with the ICE moniker," ICE acting director Patrick Lechleitner said at the time.
#child-sexual-exploitation #homeland-security-investigations #immigration-enforcement #resource-diversion
Collection
[
|
...
]