U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are facing an eight-fold increase in assaults, with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security blaming politicians and the media for stirring up “anti-ICE rhetoric” and promoting what it says are misleading stories about immigration enforcement efforts.
ICE officials have experienced an 830% increase in assaults between Jan. 21 and July 14 compared to the same period in 2024, the DHS stated in a statement. The timeline coincides with the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said it’s “reprehensible that our officers are facing this threat while simply doing their jobs and enforcing the law.”
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“Brave ICE law enforcement are risking their lives every day to keep our communities safe from the worst of the worst criminals,” McLaughlin said.
“ICE law enforcement are succeeding to remove terrorists, murderers, pedophiles and the most depraved among us from America’s communities, even as crazed rhetoric from gutter politicians are inspiring a massive increase in assaults against them.”
The agency accused politicians like Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., of helping to escalate the “anti-ICE rhetoric.”
The agency cited his actions as protesters attempted to interfere with a criminal search warrant at a marijuana facility in California. A crowd of around 500 protestors reportedly threw rocks and other objects as they surrounded law enforcement members and their vehicles, the DHS stated last week.
Carbajal allegedly arrived on the scene and spoke with an ICE public affairs specialist, who provided the California representative with his business card. The politician reportedly showed the card to the protesters, who then targeted the ICE employee. Protestors threw a rock at the ICE employee, resulting in lacerations to his hand that forced him to visit the emergency room and receive stitches.
Responding to the claims, Carbajal insisted that the DHS and ICE had used “a disturbing and disproportionate level of force” that day. He also alleged that the protesters had been “peaceful” and that ICE’s doxxing claims were an attempt “to deflect attention from their unjust tactics.”
The operation at the marijuana facility resulted in the arrest of 361 illegal aliens and the rescue of 14 migrant children who were potential victims of forced labor and human trafficking.
Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., was indicted last month for allegedly assaulting and interfering with immigration officers outside a New Jersey detention center in May.
McIver pleaded not guilty to the charges. During a briefing outside of the courthouse, the Democratic politician claimed that the charges would not “intimidate” her, The Associated Press reports.
McIver visited the Delaney Hall Detention Facility on May 9, accompanied by two other members of Congress, as part of a congressional oversight inspection that coincided with a rally protesting immigration enforcement efforts. At one point, the Newark Mayor Ras Baraka arrived and refused to leave a secure area after authorities informed him that he didn’t have authorization to be there, leading to his arrest.
The indictment accuses McIver of challenging the officers who moved to arrest the mayor and using her forearms to strike two law enforcement officers. The New Jersey representative also reportedly tried to grab and restrain one of the officers who attempted to arrest the mayor.
DHS also accused the media of publishing “alarmist, patently false stories” about federal immigration enforcement efforts. DHS provided a list of media stories that it claimed to have debunked.
The agency also denied the accusation that ICE is targeting children, insisting that agents will ask parents if they want to be removed with their children or if they want the child to be placed with someone safe chosen by the child’s parents.
“Their lies and fake stories continue to stir up hate and violence, which is leading to these assaults,” DHS said about the media.
While the Trump administration has increased immigration enforcement efforts, several churches have objected to the rescinding of a policy enacted by the Obama administration in 2011 that barred immigration law enforcement operations in “sensitive” areas, such as churches and schools.
In April, a group of churches, along with a nonprofit and an interfaith group, filed a complaint against the Trump administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, Eugene Division. The complaint accused the Trump administration of violating their First Amendment rights.
Additionally, the Roman Catholic dioceses of San Bernardino and Nashville each recently issued decrees stating that individuals who fear being detained by ICE agents were not obligated to attend mass.
The bishops of Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville also issued a statement in early June warning that “as many as 100 of those detained [in recent ICE raids], while undocumented, apparently had no previous criminal issues.”
“That brings into question whether the enforcement activity was principally targeted at those who should have no place in our communities because of their own illegal activity,” the religious leaders wrote.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
