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The Trump administration has accelerated the implementation of new rules expanding the authority of the Federal Protective Service, allowing the agency that guards federal buildings to charge people for a wider range of offenses both on and off federal property.
The changes, which had been scheduled to take effect January 1, 2026, were moved up to take effect Wednesday. Homeland Security officials said the early rollout was necessary to address what they called a “recent surge in violence.”
The new authority comes as protests intensify against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies, particularly near facilities tied to immigration enforcement such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices. The administration is also defending itself in lawsuits in Chicago and Portland that accuse federal officers of excessive force and unlawful crackdowns on protesters.
“DHS is using every tool possible to protect the lives of our law enforcement as they face a surge in violence and lawlessness at many of our federal facilities,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement announcing the accelerated rules. She cited a recent shooting at a Dallas ICE facility and another incident that killed two detainees.
Under the new regulations, Federal Protective Service officers are authorized to make arrests and bring charges for offenses near federal buildings, including obstructing access to property, tampering with digital security systems, or wearing a mask while committing a crime. The rules also expand enforcement authority to include the unauthorized use of drones and interference with government IT networks.
Civil rights advocates and legal experts warned the expanded powers could be used to suppress dissent.
“I see this as guidance to go after peaceful protests — whether or not they’re actually near federal property,” said Spencer Reynolds, a former Homeland Security intelligence lawyer now with the Brennan Center for Justice. He said Congress originally granted FPS the ability to act off-site only when necessary, but the new rules appear to formalize that authority more broadly.
Reynolds, who authored a Brennan Center report on the agency last year, said the Federal Protective Service’s mission ballooned after the Sept. 11 attacks, leading to “overreach under political pressure.”
The rule changes also come as federal judges have begun to push back against the administration’s law enforcement tactics.
In Chicago, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said Thursday she would restrict the use of force by federal agents amid allegations they targeted journalists and protesters during immigration crackdowns. Ellis said she found “no credible justification” for the force federal agents used, warning it could chill First Amendment rights.
And in Portland, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut on Sunday barred the administration from deploying National Guard troops to the city through at least Friday, ruling that the Justice Department had shown “no credible evidence” that protests there were out of control before the federalization order earlier this fall.
The Federal Protective Service, which oversees the security of federal buildings nationwide, was transferred from the General Services Administration to the Department of Homeland Security after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Critics said the new rules — combined with Trump’s expanded use of federal security forces — signal a continued erosion of local control and civil liberties.
