1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Today I take pen in hand to write and urge you to pressure the DHS to reverse the dismantling of the Department of Justice's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). As you know this unit has long been known known for targeting transnational drug cartels, and human trafficking rings. What’s worse is that we are losing functions that helped prosecute international scam operations–especially those defrauding elderly Americans. According to Bloomberg, DOJ officials were instructed to shut down OCDETF operations by September 30. Internal communications have confirmed that the unit's budget would be “zeroed out” by fiscal year 2026 , even though it was funded by Congressional Appropriations Committees. OCDETF was the DOJ's lead force against international scams and had the unique authority to prosecute foreign scammers who targeted U.S. seniors in phone, mail, and internet schemes, which caused over $9.5 million in losses last year. We all know someone victimized by such scams. Because states lack jurisdiction to prosecute such crimes abroad, the dissolution of OCDETF leaves a significant enforcement gap for crimes that continue to affect vulnerable communities. This move to swap some function to Homeland Security shows how uninterested the Trump Administration is in combating drug trafficking, cartels, and scammers of the worst description. In short only criminals benefit. Criminals that this administration clearly has ties to for money. I urge you to refuse to fund any tax dollars until this unit is restored under DOJ. I have ZERO confidence in the DHS under Kristi Noem to be anywhere near effective. In fact, I’d say this also warrants investigation by Congress. Restore the anti-drug task force and its supporting legal staff, or the public will suffer. Thank you.