The FBI Chicago’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, known as JTTF, is a key defense against both international and domestic terrorism threats. It is considered the nation’s primary line of defense in combating terrorism.
Now, the nation’s frontline defense will be focused on the border line.
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An internal memo from the FBI Chicago, obtained by ABC7 Chicago I-Team, reveals that members of the JTTF will be assisting Homeland Security Task Forces in conducting immigration-related arrests.
This initiative within FBI Chicago reflects a broader trend among federal agencies, which are reallocating resources to support President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.
The FBI Chicago JTTF recently made headlines after it was revealed Chicago could have been in the crosshairs of a terrorist attack in 2022, according to court records unsealed last week and obtained by the I-Team.
The Chicago JTTF was the driving force behind the investigation of Xuanyu Pang, a former Navy sailor who pleaded guilty to plotting an attack on Naval Station Great Lakes, the base he was assigned to, as well as Michigan Avenue, according to a federal indictment.
Investigators said Pang planned to obtain radioactive polonium, and provided a cell phone to undercover FBI agents that he believed could be used as a detonator in what may have been a plan to create a dirty bomb.
Now, as Chicago JTTF members assigned to preventing terrorism are reassigned, former Homeland Security Acting Undersecretary for Intelligence and ABC News contributor John Cohen says the new direction comes with a challenge.
“What I’m hearing from law enforcement executives across the country is real concern,” Cohen said. “If I’m moving people from terrorism investigations to work on immigration investigations, you’re going to have fewer people working to stop terrorists from entering the country and conducting attacks. So, that’s the balance that has to be worked through by the administration.”
The Chicago FBI memo, signed by Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryan Maxwell last month, states that federal Homeland Security task forces have been established in every state across the nation as a result of President Trump’s executive order, titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.”
“These (Homeland Security) task forces will include representatives from federal agencies with law enforcement officers, as well as those capable of providing critical logistics, intelligence, and operational support,” the memo states. “In line with this mandate, the FBI Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) will begin actively supporting the HSTFs starting Feb. 6, 2025, until further notice.”
The Chicago FBI office told the I-Team it has been assisting “immigration enforcement efforts since January 2025,” and that, “As the fourth-largest FBI Field Office, (it is) equipped with the resources to protect the United States from a variety of threats, including terrorism.”
In addition to the FBI, ABC News has reported the Department of Homeland Security has granted agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Air Traffic Control, Federal Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Marshals to carry out immigration enforcement.
Cohen said the reality is that there are only so many federal law enforcement resources, and so leaders have to make tough choices on where to allocate those resources.
“The reality is that law enforcement organizations have a finite number of resources,” Cohen explained, “And when you divert resources away from gang and drug investigations, from targeting violent criminals so that they can be used to do immigration enforcement, you increase the potential that violent crime will occur.”
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