As the Trump administration widens its crackdown on immigrant communities and progressive activists, federal task forces are playing an important behind-the-scenes role. Organizers warn that institutions like the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) are targeting vulnerable communities and sharing the kind of information that facilitates Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. But some say the current political climate also presents opportunities as appetites grow for local and state agencies to cut ties with the federal task forces endangering their communities.

“We have an opportunity for more allies because more people are upset, more people feel that they are impacted, more people see their neighbor being dragged away, and they don’t like it, and so the body of people that feel like something should be done is larger,” Tracy Rosenberg, advocacy director at Oakland Privacy, told Truthout. “We should take advantage of that to protect people who have been vulnerable this whole time.”

JTTFs deputize state or local police officers as federal agents, meaning a local cop who is contracted to work with a JTTF has the same policing powers as an FBI agent, and the Department of Justice can shield them from litigation and local oversight. Often, those police officers no longer have to follow their own departmental regulations on the use of force or body-worn cameras. The arrangements also come with federal dollars and gear.