Trump is doing catch and release. He should get the detention centers built and smooth out deportation b4 drafting other agencies crew. It isn't an emergency and pulling IRS criminal investigators sends a green light to that crowd.

SNIP WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security has asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to deputize some law-enforcement workers, including IRS criminal investigators, to assist in immigration enforcement, according to documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requested Bessent provide agents who would help investigate financial flows involving human-trafficking networks and businesses that employ illegal immigrants. The agents could help arrest, detain and transport people.

The tax agency has been adding enforcement staff, including criminal investigators, since the then-Democratic-controlled Congress voted in 2022 to expand the IRS and give it more resources. (Don't interfere with this. Every $1 spent brings in $4 of revenue. Let the IRS gear up and take on some billionaires. Musk will do nicely. )

IRS-CI agents investigate criminal tax evasion and other financial crimes, and they often work in tandem with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies. They track financial flows and have worked on cases attacking some of the Trump administration’s priorities, such as fentanyl trafficking and fraud involving government programs.

In 2024, according to the report, they identified $2.1 billion in tax fraud and $7 billion in other financial crimes.