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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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Diplomatic security staff whose usual job is protecting diplomats and keeping information safe have been authorized to investigate and apprehend illegal migrants under new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans.
Since assuming office, President Donald Trump has made immigration a top priority, vowing to crackdown on border security, carrying out mass deportations and ending federal benefits for people entering the country illegally. Meanwhile, the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has prioritized restructuring federal agencies to cut costs and streamline bureaucratic processes.
A memo written by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and dated February 18 said: "I hereby authorize the special agents of the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) to perform the following functions of an immigration officer."
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The functions listed were: "Investigating, determining the location of, and apprehending, any alien who is in the United States" in violation of regulations and "enforcing any requirements of such statutes and regulations," said the memo, reviewed by Newsweek.
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A statement from the DHS said up to 600 special agents would be deputized across the country.
"Under President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security will use every tool and resource available to secure our border and get criminal illegal aliens out of our country," the statement said.
A State Department official told Newsweek that DSS and the State Department were coordinating with DHS to work on the president's priorities. The official added that DSS assesses its priorities and job functions based on the administration's strategic interests.
According to the State Department, the Diplomatic Security Service has more than 2,500 staff serving worldwide as special agents, security engineering officers, security technical specialists, and diplomatic couriers. It describes their mission as being "to lead worldwide security and law enforcement efforts to advance U.S. foreign policy and safeguard national security interests."
The involvement of the diplomatic security staff in the crackdown on illegal immigration follows that of investigators from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Workers at Justice Department agencies have also been granted immigration-enforcement authority.
Dakota S. Rudesill, associate professor, at the Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law, questioned the legality of the move and whether DSS personnel have requisite training to work in immigration.
"First, what legal authority is the government citing for this deputization from one department to another? Second, what legal authority allows funding to be used in this cross-department work? Third, do DSS personnel have the necessary training? Fourth, what is State's assessment of risk to diplomats from this diversion of protective personnel?" he told Newsweek.
"Fifth and most importantly, why is DHS not doing the normal thing of asking Congress for more personnel and more money to do the work," he said.
Jocelyn Johnston, a professor at the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University, questioned whether the staff were qualified to work in immigration.
"I doubt that the general public would have a problem with this because it is easy to imagine that anyone can help to apprehend immigrants," she told Newsweek.
"However, most employees such as these are highly trained. ICE agents have strict protocols to follow, even in the current environment. Ditto for State Dept staff—they have expertise providing security in specifically defined contexts."
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