DHS Reports 1,150% Increase in Violence Against ICE Agents Amid Sanctuary City Rhetoric

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported a significant rise in assaults against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, with violent attacks increasing by more than 1,150% compared to the previous year under the Biden administration. From January 21 through November 21, DHS recorded 238 assaults on ICE officers, a sharp increase from 19 incidents during the same period in 2024, officials said Monday.

DHS officials attributed the surge in violence to public rhetoric from sanctuary city politicians, warning that such language may be contributing to the escalation. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin urged sanctuary politicians to moderate their statements, emphasizing the risks faced by ICE officers. “Sanctuary politicians need to tone the rhetoric down before a law enforcement officer is killed,” McLaughlin said. She added that these officers work daily to arrest individuals involved in serious crimes, including pedophilia, rape, murder, gang activity, and terrorism.

The department described a pattern of increasingly dangerous attacks on ICE personnel, including physical assaults such as hitting, spitting, kicking, and biting during arrests, as well as more severe incidents involving vehicle ramming, gunfire, and Molotov cocktail attacks. One officer was reportedly struck in the face with a metal coffee cup, requiring 13 stitches for a lip laceration. Another officer sustained a head injury and concussion while arresting a criminal illegal alien.

McLaughlin highlighted the severity of the violence, noting that officers have been targeted with Molotov cocktails, rocks, gunfire, and vehicles used as weapons. In one incident in September, a Guatemalan national allegedly reversed a vehicle into an ICE agent’s leg during an attempted arrest in Homestead, Florida, nearly causing serious injury. Earlier in the summer, Benjamin Hanil Song, a former U.S. Marine Corps reservist, was reportedly involved in an organized ambush on federal officers at the Prairieland Detention Center, where at least 10 individuals opened fire.

The DHS statement also referenced months of inflammatory comparisons of ICE to Nazis, the Gestapo, and slave patrols by some Democratic politicians, as well as encouragements for illegal immigrants to resist arrest. Officials warned that such rhetoric could further endanger law enforcement officers.

The department’s report underscores a growing concern over the safety of ICE agents amid politically charged environments in sanctuary jurisdictions, with officials calling for a reduction in hostile language to prevent further violence.