WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — The FBI has assisted in more than 10,000 immigration-related arrests since January 20, marking a major shift in the bureau’s priorities under Director Kash Patel and the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement strategy.

According to FBI data reviewed exclusively by Fox News Digital, the agency has worked with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to help make 10,553 arrests through coordinated efforts across field offices nationwide. The bureau has no recent precedent for such widespread involvement in immigration enforcement.

The increased activity follows a shakeup at the FBI under Patel’s leadership, with a wave of internal reassignments and efforts to reposition personnel to support immigration-related investigations. Of the FBI’s approximately 38,000 employees, 13,192 have been tasked since January with working on immigration enforcement in some capacity, including both agents and support staff.

Patel has defended the shift, frequently sharing updates on social media highlighting the FBI’s role in high-profile arrests, including the capture of Harpreet Singh in April. Singh, wanted in India for alleged terrorism ties, reportedly entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was arrested after an investigation by the FBI’s Sacramento field office.

More recently, in late May, the FBI helped U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest 32 people on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, including an alleged MS-13 gang member and a man named Luciano Pereira Deoliveira, who was facing charges related to child rape and pornography, according to the data cited by Fox News Digital.

Patel’s adviser, Erica Knight, said the FBI’s new focus reflects growing public concern over illegal immigration and the exploitation of the U.S. border by violent criminal networks.

“With over 10,000 immigration-related arrests, the Bureau under the direction of Director Patel is making it clear it’s not turning a blind eye to the border crisis,” Knight said. “It’s targeting the violent cartels and criminal networks that are exploiting it. This is the direction Americans have been demanding.”

The bureau’s recent surge in immigration enforcement has centered in key cities. The highest concentration of FBI employees supporting DHS was recorded in the Los Angeles field office, followed by Philadelphia, Houston, and San Antonio.

In March, Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi showcased the FBI’s expanded role during a press conference in Virginia. They announced the arrest of a suspected top MS-13 member as part of the Virginia Homeland Security Task Force — an interagency unit focused on transnational organized crime and immigration violations. According to U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert, the task force had made 342 arrests by that point, including 81 with gang or transnational crime affiliations. The Department of Justice initially charged the MS-13 suspect with a gun offense, later dropping the charge in favor of deportation.

Some within the bureau have reportedly expressed unease about the expanded mission. A retired FBI agent told Fox News Digital that while some agents may “grumble” about their new assignments, others recognize the growing need to address illegal migration and the security risks it may pose.

“The fact that the bureau is helping out on this stuff now is just because it’s unusual times,” said the former agent. “We’ve never had a presidential administration … import 9 million potential threats into its country, or whatever that number is, so the FBI having to get involved in this stuff is unusual, but it’s also necessary.”

He added that the FBI’s advanced intelligence tools and resources give it an edge in tracking criminal networks, and that the arrests also present valuable opportunities for gathering intelligence.

“I would hope they’re exploiting every single one of these guys,” he said, “clearly debriefing them and finding out what they know and who they know.”

While the FBI has long supported DHS in limited ways, this marks the first formal, large-scale partnership of its kind — a defining feature of the Patel era.