Federal drug prosecutions fall to lowest level in decades as Trump shifts focus to deportations

WASHINGTON — The number of people charged with breaking federal drug laws dropped to the lowest level in decades this year after the Trump administration ordered enforcement agencies to focus on deporting immigrants, a Reuters review of nearly 2 million federal court records found.

So far this year, about 10% fewer people have been prosecuted for drug violations compared to the same period of 2024, court records show, a drop of about 1,200 cases and the slowest rate since at least the late 1990s. The pullback was more dramatic for the types of conspiracy and money-laundering cases often used to pursue higher-level traffickers. The number of people charged with money-laundering dropped by 24%, according to Reuters’ analysis. Shortly after taking office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump launched the broadest overhaul of U.S. law enforcement since the attacks of September 11, 2001. He ordered thousands of federal agents to focus on fending off what he described as an “invasion” of illegal immigration. The shift has produced a coast-to-coast slowdown in the types of investigations and prosecutions that the government had long viewed as central to taking on criminal networks, including the drug cartels whose products killed more than 80,000 people last year, as agents focused instead on quick-hit immigration raids, interviews and court documents show.

“We’re seeing a reduced amount of time on long-term investigations so agents can go out in their raid gear and be seen supporting immigration raids,” said a senior Justice Department official involved in those investigations, who, like others, asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Despite Trump’s promises to take a tougher approach to drug enforcement, even high-priority cases have stalled as a result, four officials familiar with the cases told Reuters. One prosecutor said a fentanyl investigation he supervised was at a standstill because the agents who were leading it had been ordered to focus on deportations instead. Another official said investigations of drug rings have been delayed.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said that Trump’s “highly successful efforts at closing the border and removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens from our communities, along with prosecuting violent drug traffickers and targeting transnational cartels, means less illegal drugs are circulating in American communities.”

“Focusing on the number of charges does not accurately reflect the great work our attorneys are doing to hold the most serious offenders accountable,” said Justice Department spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre. She said efforts to pursue organized crime are long-term and that “our focus has been to eliminate transnational drug cartels, prosecute violent drug traffickers,” and help with immigration enforcement.