Marsha Blackburn: How ICE Makes It Safer In Tennessee

Since Inauguration Day, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have been working nonstop to make America safe again. Thanks to their operations, the Trump administration has deported more than 600,000 illegal aliens, including predators, gang members, drug traffickers, and violent criminals. Another 1.9 million have chosen to self-deport rather than face arrest.

In Tennessee, we are seeing how these efforts are transforming communities for the better. ICE officers have played a vital role in President Trump’s Memphis Safe Task Force, helping restore law and order in a city that last year recorded the highest crime rate in the country. Since the task force launched in September, overall crime has dropped 44%, including a 70% reduction in car thefts and a 44% decline in murders.

In total, the task force has conducted more than 5,800 arrests, including hundreds of warrant arrests for domestic violence and aggravated assault and dozens more for narcotics, weapons, robbery, homicide, and sexual assault. Nearly 800 have been immigration arrests conducted by ICE officers, apprehending aliens charged with some of the worst crimes imaginable: child abuse, human trafficking, assaulting police officers, domestic violence, aggravated assault, drug dealing, and more.

A big part of this success: local, state, and federal law enforcement are working closely together to identify and detain criminals, including illegal aliens. In November, the Shelby County Sheriff signed a 287(g) agreement that allows law enforcement to detain and transport illegal aliens wanted by ICE, serving as a model of what can be accomplished when authorities at all levels of government cooperate to enforce our immigration laws.

Beyond Memphis, ICE has detained dangerous criminals across Tennessee. Just last weekend, agents arrested a criminal meth dealer in Monroe County. In Nashville, agents have rounded up violent criminal illegal aliens, including Tren de Aragua gang members who operated a transnational sex trafficking ring.

Operations like these are making communities safer for Tennesseans and Americans nationwide. Yet for months, Democrats have smeared these officers for doing their job and enforcing the law.

California Governor Gavin Newsom compared them to “secret police.” Minnesota’s Tim Walz likened them to “modern-day Gestapo.” Rep. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) called ICE’s operations “vile and beyond cruel,” while Rep. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) claimed agents are “turning our country into a fascist police state.”

This reckless rhetoric has put a target on the back of the brave men and women of ICE, who are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults over the last year. In response, far-Left activists have mobilized to disrupt lawful ICE operations, endangering both agents and the public. We saw this in Minneapolis, where 37-year-old Renee Good attempted to impede federal officers and hit an ICE agent — forcing the officer, who suffered internal bleeding, to use lethal force to stop her.

This tragedy should have never happened. But instead of dialing back their incendiary language, Democrats have doubled down. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey instructed ICE agents to “get the f— out” of the city, and Minnesota is suing the Trump administration to block their law enforcement operations. In Congress, Democrats are threatening a partial government shutdown to block funding for the agency.

Some media outlets have only made matters worse by amplifying false narratives. Just this week in Tennessee, a local news outlet claimed that state troopers ran over a man protesting ICE. Dashcam footage later showed that the protester flagged down the vehicle, bent down in front of it, and walked off unharmed.

The lies, slander, and mischaracterizations can’t hide the truth: ICE agents are putting their lives on the line every single day to protect the American people — from Memphis to Minneapolis and everywhere in between. And they deserve our full support as they uphold the rule of law.

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U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn represents the state of Tennessee and serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.