President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed legislation backed by Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley (R) that expands federal efforts to combat online child exploitation by funding 200 additional investigators and analysts within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The measure was included in a broader $70 billion reconciliation package that also funds Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol.
Hawley’s office said $108.5 million is allocated specifically for child exploitation enforcement under the provision, which lawmakers described as a major expansion of federal investigative resources.
Under the legislation, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will increase staffing within its child exploitation units, adding forensic analysts and investigators focused on identifying victims in abuse imagery and supporting active criminal cases.
The law also establishes a training program designed to improve coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies handling exploitation investigations.
Officials involved in the effort said DHS currently relies on a limited number of specialists dedicated full-time to victim identification in online exploitation cases, despite a rising volume of digital material requiring review and forensic analysis.
Supporters said the new funding is intended to significantly expand that capacity and reduce investigative backlogs.
Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, who has worked with lawmakers on efforts to combat child exploitation, supported the legislation and testified during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing chaired by Hawley back in March.
Tebow referenced estimates of hundreds of thousands of IP addresses linked to the distribution or downloading of child sexual abuse material, along with tens of thousands of unidentified victims in ongoing investigations.
Tebow and lawmakers supporting the measure said the scale of online exploitation cases has created sustained pressure on federal investigators tasked with processing and analyzing large volumes of evidence.
They said expanding staffing levels is necessary to improve victim identification and speed up active investigations.
Supporters of the bill said the additional personnel are intended to accelerate case processing, strengthen forensic review capabilities, and improve coordination across agencies responsible for handling child exploitation cases.
They also said the expansion is designed to improve communication between federal and local law enforcement units working on related investigations.
Hawley said the legislation significantly increases federal capacity to investigate child exploitation cases and strengthens coordination across enforcement agencies.
In an opinion piece published in The Daily Wire, he described the measure as a major step in addressing what he called a widespread crisis of online exploitation and emphasized the importance of expanding investigative tools.
The White House referred to President Trump’s remarks during the signing of the Secure America Act, where he said the legislation strengthens domestic law enforcement capabilities and supports efforts to combat crimes against children while enhancing public safety initiatives, according to Fox News.
Supporters said DHS has historically operated with a small number of forensic specialists assigned specifically to victim identification work in online exploitation cases, a limitation they say has been strained by increasing digital evidence workloads and rising case volumes.
Following enactment, supporters said the law represents one of the largest federal expansions of resources dedicated to combating online child exploitation, with a focus on staffing increases, forensic capabilities, and interagency coordination designed to improve victim identification and recovery outcomes.
