US abandons child exploitation and drug cases to prioritize ICE, Democrats allege [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Wed 7 Jan 2026 12.21 EST
First published on Tue 6 Jan 2026 06.00 EST
The Trump administration has abandoned efforts to combat child exploitation, human trafficking and cartels as it diverts thousands of law enforcement personnel to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Democratic senators said in a letter to the White House.
Ruben Gallego of Arizona, along with 28 other Democratic senators and one independent, wrote to the president, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) on Monday demanding that federal officials provide a “full accounting” of officers who have been redirected to immigration enforcement and a list of all investigations affected by the reassignments.
The letter, first shared with the Guardian, follows a series of reports suggesting that the president’s push to dramatically expand its force of immigration officers has hampered a wide range of law-enforcement priorities. The senators cited an ICE document from August 2025, published by the Cato Institute thinktank, which said more than 28,000 personnel from federal law-enforcement agencies had been diverted from their regular duties to work for ICE’s enforcement and removal operations, which conducts raids and arrests undocumented people.
The letter referenced a New York Times investigation in November finding the intense focus on deportations has taken resources away from investigations into sexual crimes against children, an inquiry into a hidden market that finances terrorism, and federal efforts to combat human smuggling and sex trafficking.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/06/ice-trump-democrats-letter
Link to Senator Gallego PRESS RELEASE - Gallego Leads Colleagues in Demanding Answers on Harms of Diverting Federal Agents for Immigration Enforcement
Link to LETTER (inquiry) (PDF) - https://senate.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=239475b0dda40486ab60cbc84&id=ce637808b3&e=277a4188e6
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