The New York Times has launched yet another anonymously sourced broadside against President Trumps immigration enforcement efforts, only to be swiftly contradicted by the very agencies it claimed to expose.
According to Gateway Pundit, the Times reported that federal agents nationwide were recently informed that the FBI would no longer investigate confrontations involving immigration officers, cases that sometimes yield evidence that could be used to prosecute DHS agents implicated in violent encounters.
The paper further asserted that, If enacted, such a change would sharply limit law enforcement scrutiny of immigration agents, as the Trump administration draws mounting criticism over killings at the hands of federal officers. In the last two weeks, two fatal shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Texas and Maine have thrust the governments tactics back into the spotlight.
The Times leaned heavily on unnamed sources, claiming, F.B.I. managers around the country received a written notice informing them of the change on Thursday, according to the people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal communications. The same day, some ICE agents around the country were notified by their F.B.I. counterparts. It went on to allege that, The guidance shared with them said that the bureau would stop investigating claims of assaults against Department of Homeland Security agents, the people said. Even though such investigations are intended to determine whether the officers were in fact attacked, they can provide a crucial means of gathering evidence implicating the agents themselves.
The Times also boasted of its own inquiry, stating, An investigation by The New York Times found that the Trump administration had filed charges against more than 550 people for assaulting federal officers. Of the more than 400 cases that had been resolved, nearly half had unraveled, with charges being thrown out or withdrawn, or the defendants being acquitted. That framing conveniently casts doubt on federal law enforcement while ignoring the violent reality officers often face on the front lines of border and immigration enforcement.
DHS, however, moved quickly to dismantle the narrative. In a direct statement on Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security declared, This is FALSE. The relationship between DHS and @TheJusticeDept in investigating assault on federal officer cases has NOT changed, and @FBI will continue to investigate in accordance with agency policy. This administration has been clear, anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
The joint denial from DHS and the Justice Department leaves little room for the Times insinuations, underscoring that there has been NO change in how assaults on federal officers are handled. At a moment when the left and its media allies routinely vilify law enforcement, the Trump administrations stance remains unequivocal: the FBI will continue to investigate in accordance with agency policy, and anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Login