Top DHS Official Lays Out Spike In Attacks On ICE, Says It’s Becoming ‘Chronic’

Federal immigration agents have endured a sharp spike in vehicle-ramming attacks in recent weeks as anti-ICE violence surges, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin tells The Daily Wire.

McLaughlin sat down with The Daily Wire’s Mary Margaret Olohan at the White House on the one year anniversary of Trump taking office, and shared the shocking account of the threats federal immigration agents face in cities like Minneapolis, which has become a flashpoint for violent confrontation following a recent fatal shooting during an ICE operation.

And the violence hasn’t let up since an ICE officer shot and killed protester Renee Good, who appeared to be blocking federal agents before hitting one of them with her car in Minneapolis earlier this month. McLaughlin described such attacks as “chronic.”

“Because we’re seeing it not just from the rioters themselves, who are blocking our agents in and then weaponizing their vehicles, but we’re also seeing it from aliens who are targets of our operations. They’re seeing this as a tactic to potentially evade arrest,” she said.

Federal immigration agents have been left to fend for themselves in Minneapolis, where local authorities are under the thumb of sanctuary laws, McLaughlin said. She noted that agents have at times been forced to establish their own medical areas after leftist agitators followed them to the hospital.

McLaughlin placed the blame on Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz as anti-ICE attacks surge.

“It’s a dangerous situation that Jacob Frey and Tim Walz have allowed to spiral out of control because they’re not giving our federal law enforcement the backup they need. They won’t allow any interaction or engagement backup from state and local law enforcement, so what we’re seeing on the ground is that where our law enforcement are staying or expected to be staying by these rioters, they have bomb threats there,” she said.

“We’ve seen that our officers have had fireworks launched at them, they’ve been pummeled by ice chunks, by rocks, pushing, shoving, general assault, but also those vehicular rammings. We’ve seen a major increase in that, 3,200% increase,” she added.

Still, DHS remains undeterred, with McLaughlin pledging that Americans can expect more deportations in President Donald Trump’s second year of his second term.

During the first year of Trump’s second term, ICE deported 675,000 illegal immigrants. An additional 2.2 million illegal immigrants left on their own, according to DHS.

The Trump administration upped the exit bonus paid to illegal immigrants who voluntarily self-deport from $1,000 to $2,600, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday. McLaughlin said roughly 100,000 people have voluntarily self-deported in the past year.