How the IRS' crime-fighting force took on immigration and other issues in 2025

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The crime-fighting arm of the IRS spent less time tracking down tax evaders this year, instead picking up some new responsibilities, such as helping with immigration enforcement and supporting National Guard deployments in two Democratic-led cities.

IRS Criminal Investigations Chief Guy Ficco spoke with The Associated Press about how the agency is juggling its work on new Trump administration priorities with its core mission of tax enforcement. The little-known agency has been doing more with fewer staff, according to its annual report, released on Thursday.

Ficco, who served as the head of the IRS Criminal Investigations unit during both the Biden and Trump presidencies, described his workforce as “resilient” after Department of Government Efficiency cuts to the unit earlier this year.

“I think, by anyone’s account, 2025 has been challenging in the sense that there’s always a challenge when administrations change,” Ficco said in the interview.

When combined with layoffs and retirements this year, Ficco said, “we’re down a significant amount of our personnel now.”

There was a 10% reduction in personnel for the unit in fiscal year 2025 — going from 3,474 field agents and professional staff in 2024, down to 3,143 in 2025.

The agency has also had to manage a larger workload, sending about 25 agents to support the National Guard after Trump deployed the soldiers to help address crime in Washington, D.C.

In September, the agents also began helping with National Guard operations in Memphis. In February, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asked to borrow IRS Criminal Investigation workers to help with her agency's immigration operations.

Since May, the IRS unit has deployed 250 agents to track down undocumented people and issue deportation orders, Ficco said. IRS-CI said its agents have helped ICE with arrests, detentions, and deportations.

Meanwhile, the agency boosted the number of investigations into corporate and financial institution fraud, money laundering and a host of other crimes. However, one area that has seen a drop-off is investigations for “abusive tax schemes” or tax evasion.

IRS-CI issued 834 prosecution recommendations for tax crimes in fiscal year 2025. But tax evasion cases dropped to 34 in 2025, down from 92 in 2024, and there were 17 prosecutions recommended this year compared to 55 in 2024.

Some cases IRS-CI had previously recommended for prosecution are waiting for action from the DOJ, and “ultimately may get prosecuted in the near future,” Ficco said.