Federal and local officials have announced the creation of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) New York, a new collaborative effort aimed at identifying, disrupting, and dismantling foreign terrorist organizations, criminal cartels, and transnational criminal groups operating in New York and across the United States.
The task force is co-led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), bringing together federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The initiative was unveiled on December 10 by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella, Jr., FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia, HSI Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis, Jr., and NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch.
“We hear what New Yorkers want: they want our parks, schools, housing developments, subways, and streets to be safe and feel safe,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Together with our federal partners and the NYPD, the Southern District is committed to delivering safe streets and a better quality of life for all New Yorkers. In the last year, we have collectively investigated and charged: members of Tren de Aragua and many other brutally violent gangs with murders, sex trafficking, and narcotics distribution; over a dozen narco-terrorists and members of state-sponsored drug cartels with narcotics distribution; foreign nationals with fentanyl distribution; and most recently, 18 defendants in a wide narcotics sweep aimed at cleaning up Washington Square Park. The women and men of the SDNY are actively engaged in similar matters and are committed to making New York safer each and every day.”
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr., added: “The historic collaboration of this Task Force strengthens the mission to protect our citizens by standing between our Districts and the transnational criminal organizations, human smugglers, and cybercriminals who target us with drug trafficking, violence, and economic harm.”
“FBI New York proudly stands alongside our federal, state, and local partners to co-lead with HSI New York the New York Homeland Security Task Force,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia. “By bringing the full force of the federal government, this task force will dismantle designated terrorist enterprises who are responsible for trafficking lethal drugs and weapons into our communities. Through unified partnership, we will continue to defend the homeland from evolving threats, safeguard critical infrastructure, and strengthen national resilience.”
HSI Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel stated: “The people of this city deserve to know that special agents and investigators at every level of law enforcement are standing side-by-side and collaborating under one roof so that New Yorkers may go about their lives safely and comfortably… With unity as our strength and coordination as our advantage, we will outpace, outsmart, and outmaneuver transnational criminal organizations at every turn.”
IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis Jr., commented: “We are proud to have entered into this agreement with the New York Homeland Security Task Force as a partner… Whether it is money laundering… or leveraging our tax authority… Special Agents with IRS Criminal Investigation have long been known for lending their financial… expertise to complex investigations.”
The HSTF’s mission is to identify transnational criminal organizations involved in crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering, weapons trafficking (including firearms), human trafficking or smuggling migrants across borders illegally (“alien smuggling”), homicide or murder-for-hire schemes (“homicide”), extortion schemes targeting businesses or individuals (“extortion”), kidnapping cases where ransom demands cross international boundaries (“kidnapping”), among other violations that attract federal investigative interest.
HSTF New York’s focus includes investigating Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) while working toward disrupting these groups using combined intelligence from both law enforcement investigations as well as intelligence community partners.
Participating agencies include personnel from multiple levels of government—federal entities such as Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Treasury (Treasury), Department of State (State), Department of War (War), Office of Director National Intelligence (ODNI), Department Labor—and several law enforcement agencies including ATF; Diplomatic Security Service; DEA; NYPD; USCIS; Coast Guard; Customs & Border Protection; Marshals Service (Eastern/Southern Districts); Postal Inspection Service; Secret Service.
Nationwide since August 25 through October 7 alone—according to data provided by authorities—Homeland Security Task Forces made more than 3,200 arrests involving foreign terrorists or gang members while seizing over 91 metric tons worth illegal drugs from American streets during coordinated operations across all states.
Prior to HSTF’s establishment there were around 1,000 separate task forces focused on transnational crime but now operations are streamlined under one umbrella system covering all fifty states plus territories—with logistical support also coming from military/intelligence community partners.
The HSTF absorbed components from Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)—which has been retired—including databases/infrastructure/partnerships/funding previously used by OCDETF Strike Forces.
While Safe Street Task Forces continue focusing on domestic gangs/violence reduction efforts within US borders—and Joint Terrorism Task Forces concentrate on ideological terrorism—the new HSTFs address multijurisdictional international cartels/gangs whose activities cross national boundaries.
