WASHINGTON (AP) — Under the Trump administration, immigration enforcement has expanded far beyond the Department of Homeland Security, traditionally responsible for border security. DEA agents highlight immigration-related arrests, IRS officials scrutinize financial records, and the military assists with deportation flights—all part of a broad federal effort to crack down on illegal immigration and carry out mass deportations.
President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration agenda has led to a whole-of-government approach, effectively turning nearly every major Cabinet department into an immigration enforcement entity. The Departments of State, Defense, and Justice have prioritized immigration in both their operations and public messaging, while agencies like Treasury and Health and Human Services have also played a role.
This expansive approach is expected to intensify, as Trump signed an executive order late Wednesday to end federal benefits for individuals residing in the U.S. illegally.
“The scope of actions in these initial weeks is significantly broader than what we witnessed during Trump’s first term,” said Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, associate policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.
State Department’s Role in Immigration Enforcement
As Trump pushes for “mass deportations,” the focus extends beyond arrests to ensuring deportees are accepted by foreign countries—a challenge where the State Department plays a crucial role.
On his first international trip as Secretary of State, Marco Rubio prioritized migration, securing agreements with Guatemala, Panama, and El Salvador to accept deportees from other nations. While other topics, such as China’s influence on the Panama Canal, were discussed, immigration remained at the forefront of his agenda.
Tom Warrick, a former senior DHS counterterrorism official now with the Atlantic Council, noted this shift in diplomatic priorities:
“For DHS and ICE, the question is, ‘What do you need foreign countries to do?’ The State Department is now tasked with making those demands a top priority.”
Rubio’s deputy, Christopher Landau—former U.S. ambassador to Mexico from 2019 to 2021—played a key role in implementing the Remain in Mexico policy and, like Rubio, speaks fluent Spanish. Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, sees this as a strategic decision.
“The fact that Rubio and Landau hold the top positions at State underscores the administration’s renewed focus on our region,” Krikorian said. “Immigration control is a major part of that.”
Additionally, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem deputized 600 agents from the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service on Tuesday to assist with the arrest and deportation of individuals in the U.S. illegally.
An Expanded Military Role in Immigration Enforcement
The Defense Department has supported border security efforts since the George W. Bush administration, deploying active-duty and National Guard troops to assist Border Patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border.
However, the current administration has taken more aggressive and high-profile steps.
The Pentagon has increased troop presence at the border and committed to further reinforcements. In a significant shift, Air Force planes have been used for 26 deportation flights—a rare move that goes beyond the traditional reliance on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) charter flights.
During his first trip as Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth visited border troops and emphasized that all department resources were available to support immigration enforcement. Among these efforts is the controversial use of Guantanamo Bay, where officials have conducted 13 deportation flights for migrants they describe as “the worst of the worst,” though little information has been released about their identities or any alleged crimes.
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