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

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - 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.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/federal-drug-prosecutions-fall-lowest-level-decades-trump-shifts-focus-2025-09-29/