Topic: Muslim Community

The FBI uses immigration status and the threat of deportation as leverage to recruit informants within Muslim communities. Unlike organized crime investigations where agents target active criminals, counterterrorism efforts often involve pressuring law-abiding citizens by threatening their residency or the visas of their family members. The FBI currently maintains approximately 15,000 informants, a ten-fold increase since the era of J. Edgar Hoover, many of whom operate under extreme duress or financial desperation.