The Department of Homeland Security says assaults against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have surged 1,649% since President Trump returned to office, and the agency’s leadership is putting the blame squarely on local elected officials it accuses of stoking anti-ICE sentiment.
DHS figures show 647 assaults against ICE personnel between Jan. 20, 2025, and Sept. 20, 2026, compared with 37 assaults recorded during the same stretch of the Biden administration, from Jan. 20, 2021, to Sept. 20, 2022.
“The brave men and women of ICE, who are simply enforcing the laws mandated by Congress and protecting the American people, are under attack every single day. Since President Trump unleashed ICE to do their jobs, assaults against them have risen by more than 1,600% in the first year and a half of the administration,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said.
Mullin attributed the rise in violence to what he called “vicious lies” spread by “sanctuary politicians and their foot soldiers who are involved in anti-ICE riots and other acts of violence.”
“DHS is calling on these sanctuary politicians to stop attacking federal law enforcement, stop putting the needs of illegal aliens ahead of the safety of American citizens, and to start working with us to make America safe again,” Mullin said.
Officials Compare ICE to Nazi Enforcers
DHS pointed to a string of statements from mostly Democratic officials accusing ICE of terrorizing communities, even as the agency continues to arrest people with prior convictions for murder, child sex crimes, terrorism, and drug trafficking. Some lawmakers have called for ICE to be abolished outright. Others have compared the agency to the SS or the Gestapo, the feared enforcement arms of Nazi Germany. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, likened ICE agents to “slave patrols” she said were “disappearing people based on their skin color.”
From Rhetoric to Violence
DHS says the hostile rhetoric has coincided with direct attacks on officers. In October 2025, Eduardo Aguilar, an illegal immigrant from Mexico living in Dallas, Texas, was arrested after allegedly posting a TikTok video in Spanish soliciting the murder of ICE personnel.
In July 2025, a group of anti-ICE protesters opened fire on officers at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, wounding a law enforcement officer. Eight people connected to that shooting were sentenced in June to prison terms ranging from 30 to 100 years.
In June 2025, Gabriel Hurtado-Cariaco, described by authorities as a member of the Tren de Aragua gang, allegedly threw an ICE agent to the ground in Bellevue, Nebraska, slammed her head into the pavement, tore off her body armor, and continued making violent contact with her during an attempted arrest. The agent suffered serious head and arm injuries and was treated at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Hurtado-Cariaco is charged with attempted murder.
In Portland, a man was sentenced to 30 months in prison for throwing a rock at an ICE officer during a protest. DHS says other officers have been targeted with rocks, Molotov cocktails, and other thrown objects.
Sanctuary Policies Under Fire
The rise in confrontations comes as the Trump administration has intensified enforcement against illegal immigrants with criminal records and final removal orders, prompting many Democratic-led jurisdictions to strengthen sanctuary policies that limit local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
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