Washington DC - The Federal Bureau of Investigations has reportedly been ordered to cease investigating cases of assault against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents that resulted in the discharging of a weapon.
Sources told The New York Times that FBI managers across the country received a "written notice" last Thursday, informing them the bureau would stop investigating claims of assaults against Department of Homeland Security agents.
The information was then relayed to some ICE officers as well.
At the direction of President Donald Trump and his administration, the FBI had previously been tasked with investigating assault claims made by agents that resulted in them using their weapon.
If the new policy holds, this task would now fall to Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of ICE itself, meaning the agency would be expected to govern itself.
President Trump has faced heavy backlash for his aggressive immigration agenda, which has resulted in violence and, in some cases, death.
In February, two US citizens – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – were fatally shot during two separate incidents in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Just last month, agents in Texas fatally shot Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and agents in Maine fatally shot a Colombian man named Joan Sebastian Guerrero.
In a joint statement, DHS and the Department of Justice insisted there has been no such change, and that the FBI will continue investigating assaults "in accordance with agency policy."