March 11, 2026
Mr. Gallego submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Expressing the sense of the Senate that the law enforcement agents and other personnel of the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, who have been temporarily engaging in civil immigration enforcement operations, should be returned to their primary missions during periods of active hostility with Iran.
Whereas, on June 22, 2025, following United States strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, the Department of Homeland Security issued a National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin that stated the ongoing conflict has caused a heightened threat environment in the United States;
Whereas, on February 28, 2026, the United States initiated hostilities with the Islamic Republic of Iran;
Whereas, following the February 28, 2026, strikes, United States national security departments and agencies have acknowledged that the recent operation has significantly increased the risk of terrorism in the United States and abroad;
Whereas the Trump administration has diverted thousands of Federal law enforcement agents and personnel who keep Americans safe, including one quarter of all Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, personnel working on a major joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations into illicit Iranian oil shipments, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency specialists who protect critical infrastructure from foreign cyberattacks, and personnel at the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis, and redeployed them to conduct civil immigration enforcement without strategic justification or operational need;
Whereas, in a world of finite resources, an agent focused on arresting immigrants with no criminal history necessarily means one fewer agent is available to prevent a terrorist attack;
Whereas, reports suggest that days before the United States initiated hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Federal Bureau of Investigation fired agents and personnel from a counterintelligence unit tasked with monitoring threats from Iran, and reports indicate plans to cut its Cyber Division staff by half;
Whereas many of the reassigned and laid off personnel had been focused on thwarting terrorist attacks;
Whereas the Trump administration appointed a recent college graduate with no relevant experience to lead the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships of the Department of Homeland Security, the entity that supports terrorism and targeted violence prevention planning, before gutting the Center entirely; and
Whereas these actions, in the aggregate, put Americans at greater risk of a retaliatory terrorist attack: Now, therefore, be it
That it is the sense of the Senate that the law enforcement agents and other personnel of the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, whose primary mission focus is counterterrorism, cybersecurity, or counterintelligence and who, since January 20, 2025, have been placed on temporary duty, detail, or otherwise reassigned, whether on a full-time or part-time basis, to engage in civil immigration enforcement operations, should be returned to their primary missions during periods of active hostility with Iran and other state-sponsors of terror.