Homeland Security Deputizes up to 600 State Department Officials to Enforce Immigration Law

The officials are part of the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks to staff at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters in Washington on Jan. 28, 2025. Manuel Balce Ceneta/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) secretary deputized up to 600 law enforcement officers from the State Department to become immigration enforcement officers, according to a memo signed on Tuesday and a news release.

“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,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in her memo.