Dozens of Democrats Demand ATF Explain Resource Shifting Toward Immigration Enforcement

Democratic lawmakers are placing strain on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to element how a lot it has shifted its enforcement priorities in the course of the second Trump Administration, particularly into operations like immigration raids.

On Tuesday, Congressman Joe Morelle (D., N.Y.-25) despatched a letter to Legal professional Common Pam Bondi (R.), FBI Director Kash Patel, and Performing ATF Director David Driscoll demanding they reply a collection of questions by subsequent month. The letter was co-signed by seventy different Home Democrats. In it, Morrelle accused the ATF of lowering its efforts to fight gun crime and requested for current enforcement knowledge in addition to particulars on its involvement in immigration enforcement.

“We’re writing to you at the moment to share our deep considerations about current reviews on federal regulation enforcement agent reallocations and personnel attritions throughout the Division of Justice (DOJ), together with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),” the congressman wrote. “The actions by the DOJ jeopardize essential public security initiatives, together with defending the American folks from gun crime.”

The letter brings new scrutiny to the ATF’s current practices, particularly the reported downturn in gun crime referrals. The company hasn’t been among the many most outstanding engaged in controversial immigration raids or normal avenue deployments throughout the nation, nevertheless it has proven up in a number of high-profile incidents–together with one Minneapolis raid the place ATF brokers wore masks that hid their identities and door-to-door patrols throughout President Donald Trump’s takeover of Washington, DC’s policing in August. The elevated scrutiny may grow to be an issue for President Trump’s new nominee for ATF Director, Robert Cekada, when he faces questions in the course of the upcoming Senate affirmation course of.

“[R]eporting means that ATF has reassigned 80% of its particular brokers to immigration enforcement,” Morrelle wrote, citing CNN reporting from October.

The ATF didn’t reply to a request for touch upon the letter. Nonetheless, the DOJ disputed a few of CNN’s reporting on the time, claiming ATF brokers had “charged greater than 4,000 suspects since January and seized greater than 22,000 weapons.”

“Our mission is to prosecute criminals, get unlawful weapons off our streets, and shield all Individuals from violent crime, which may be achieved whereas concurrently aiding our companions with immigration enforcement efforts,” a spokesperson instructed the information station.

However present and former ATF officers instructed CNN the arrests DOJ touted weren’t essentially associated to gun crimes.

“It’s what they’re not doing,” Scott Shuchart, a former ICE assistant director for regulatory affairs and coverage, stated. “They’re harming the nation by undermining federal regulation enforcement… They will get Individuals killed to allow them to deport foreigners.”

Reviews from CNN and quite a few different retailers, together with a current New York Instances story, point out that the ATF just isn’t alone in having its assets redirected towards immigration. Morelle claimed the precedence shift has diminished the federal authorities’s means to cease a slew of different critical crimes.

“These companies have a finite variety of assets, and lowering the assets allotted to counterterrorism, counterespionage, gun trafficking, white-collar crime, fraud and public corruption instances, along with a slew of different critical felony investigations, significantly diminishes public security,” Morrelle wrote.

The Democrats who signed the letter additionally criticized the Trump Administration’s choice to rescind the Biden Administration’s “Zero Tolerance” coverage for Federal Firearms Licenses (FFL). The Biden coverage led to a file enhance in license revocations, and its reversal earlier this 12 months seems to have led to a file drop, with CNN reporting there could have been none by means of the primary half of 2025. Whereas the gun business and gun-rights activists have cheered the change, arguing the Biden coverage was abusive and unfair, Morrelle and different gun-control advocates are upset by it, claiming it and a current discount within the variety of Business Operations Investigators (IOI) symbolize a brand new blind spot in combating unlawful gun trafficking.

“It’s just about unimaginable to make sure sellers are sustaining compliance with even essentially the most fundamental statutory necessities with this price of inspection, but current reporting suggests ATF has already misplaced one in seven IOIs to job reductions and retirements pushed by your Administration, and should lose a complete of 550 of its IOIs if President Trump’s finances is totally applied,” he stated. “These personnel reductions are exacerbating the difficulties in correctly guaranteeing compliance from license holders, resulting in dire penalties for stopping gun trafficking and violence in America. Persevering with to push assets away from these directives will solely additional enhance gun crimes.”

Within the letter, Morrelle calls for that the ATF clarify what number of licenses have been revoked and why. He additionally asks for particulars on the variety of ongoing investigations into FFL conduct. Additional, he wished particulars on what number of FFLs the ATF has referred for felony fees throughout 2025.

“As Members of Congress, it’s our accountability to conduct oversight of how the Division of Justice allocates its federal assets in compliance with the regulation,” Morrelle wrote.

The letter provides the company till December fifth to answer the questions.