Anti-ICE Protesters Just Exposed the Democrats’ Working-Class Problem

Mehek Cooke, senior national security and legal analyst for the Daily Signal, said that recent anti-ICE protests in New Jersey are part of a broader pattern of organized agitation aimed at undermining law enforcement and President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.

Appearing Thursday on NewsNation’s “Katie Pavlich Tonight,” Cooke responded to video of protesters outside an immigrant detention facility who blocked a trucker’s exit route. She said the confrontation revealed the growing divide between political activists and hard working Americans.

“I think it’s frightening and it’s a pattern,” Cooke said, pointing first to the Black Lives Matter riots where cities completely shut down because of rioters before mentioning sanctuary city policies. She said current anti-ICE protests are “a direct violation of our law.”

Cooke argued there is a clear distinction between peaceful protest and conduct that obstructs law enforcement and prevents ordinary Americans from doing their jobs.

“There’s one thing about peaceful protest, but these individuals are obstructing justice,” Cooke said of the viral video of the truck driver admonishing protesters. “Look at that man. He’s a working man. Aren’t Democrats supposed to stand for working people?”

Cooke argued the truck driver in the video became a symbol of broader public frustration.

“That’s a snapshot for American frustration because he was not staged,” she said. “Those protesters were, but he actually showed every single American: I just want to do my job, and you’re obstructing.”

Cooke said she believes the protests reflect a systematic effort by paid agitators to weaken Trump’s border and immigration enforcement agenda.

“They have no plan, so they protest and they lash out,” Cooke said.

She also criticized Democrats for what she described as selective outrage over illegal immigration and crime, stating they should have the same level of anger for women who have been “slaughtered and murdered at the hands of these illegals.”

Cooke further stated that illegal border crossings should not be minimized as merely civil violations, calling that argument a lie. She said entering the country illegally is a criminal violation and that the first act of lawbreaking is crossing the border unlawfully.

“President Trump gave every person an opportunity and a road map,” Cooke said, referring to self-deportation. She said those who want to remain in the United States must follow the law.

Cooke said Democrats have shifted their attacks from police officers to ICE agents, warning that the pattern puts law enforcement and public safety at risk.