Frequently Asked Questions

The Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) is a permanent, interagency law enforcement task force created by executive order to combat transnational criminal organizations across all 52 U.S. states and territories—including cartels, trafficking networks, and foreign terrorist organizations.

There are 30 regional task forces and 29 satellite offices covering every state, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico.

The National Coordination Center is the operational hub of the HSTF network, co-led by HSI and the FBI in Fairfax, Virginia. It directs resources, coordinates criminal network analysis, and deconflicts targets across task forces nationwide.

The HSTF targets six primary threat categories: narcotics and contraband trafficking, human trafficking and smuggling, weapons trafficking, financial crimes, transnational gangs, and cyber-enabled crime.

While Joint Terrorism Task Forces focus primarily on terrorism-related investigations, the HSTF specifically targets transnational criminal organizations including cartels and their operations across borders, integrating both intelligence community data and law enforcement investigations.

State and local agencies participate directly through the regional task forces, which serve as the primary coordination point between federal and local law enforcement. Over 440 state and local agencies are currently partnered with the HSTF.

The HSTF focuses on criminal enforcement against transnational criminal organizations, including cartels, trafficking networks, and terrorist organizations. Civil immigration enforcement falls under separate authorities.

The HSTF operates through existing federal agency budgets and appropriations, with resources directed by the National Coordination Center to ensure efficient deployment across all 30 regional task forces.

Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies can coordinate with the HSTF by contacting their nearest regional task force office or contact the National Coordination Center.