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PULSE POINTS
❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump’s new Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) conducted a January “surge” operation, resulting in over 500 arrests and significant seizures of narcotics and weapons.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: HSTF, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), state and local law enforcement agencies, and federal departments, including the Coast Guard and Border Patrol.
📍WHEN & WHERE: January 2026, spanning locations across the U.S., including border towns and cities such as San Diego, Miami, and Las Cruces.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The President’s Homeland Security Task Forces are a landmark achievement that highlight what the federal government can achieve with a leader like President Trump who is willing to slash red tape, increase coordination, and put the safety of the American people first.” – White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson
🎯IMPACT: The operation led to 507 arrests, 16 indictments, the seizure of over 1,100 pounds of narcotics, and the identification of 257 victims, including 27 children.
IN FULL
President Donald J. Trump’s new Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) conducted a nationwide enforcement surge in January that resulted in more than 500 arrests, according to the White House. The task forces were established under Trump’s day-one executive order, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” and combine resources from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and state and local law enforcement agencies.
At the HSTF’s launch in October, Trump said, “It should now be clear to the entire world that the cartels are the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere.” Since its creation, the task force has also partnered with agencies such as the IRS and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said, “The President’s Homeland Security Task Forces are a landmark achievement that highlight what the federal government can achieve with a leader like President Trump who is willing to slash red tape, increase coordination, and put the safety of the American people first.” She added that the January operation made “tremendous progress toward getting criminals off the streets and protecting victims,” in keeping with Trump’s pledge to “Make America Safe Again.”
The operation targeted criminal cartels, transnational gangs, and cross-border smuggling networks, with a particular emphasis on crimes involving children. Authorities arrested 507 individuals during the surge. Of those, 231 face federal charges and 276 face state charges, and officials secured 16 federal indictments.
Law enforcement officers seized 1,109 pounds of narcotics, including heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine, and confiscated six weapons caches. In one case, the Coast Guard’s San Juan station worked with the task force to apprehend a suspected smuggler near Puerto Rico and seized 10 bales of cocaine valued at an estimated $5 million. Officials also reported that identified victims received approximately $491,000 in restitution.
The enforcement actions took place across the Lower 48 states, including cities such as Atlantic City, San Diego, Raleigh, and Miami, as well as border communities including San Ysidro, Nogales, and Laredo. Agencies involved ranged from local departments such as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Police Department in Virginia to federal partners, including the United States Coast Guard.
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