Federal officials urged the public to report any harassment or abuse of immigration agents as threats and violence against them continue to rise.
United States immigration officers are facing an 8,000 percent increase in death threats against them, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data released Thursday.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have faced a dramatic jump in violent threats since the Trump administration launched deportation operations this year, DHS reported.
“From bounties placed on their heads for their murders, threats to their families, stalking, and doxing online, our officers are experiencing an unprecedented level of violence and threats against them and their families,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
She said the vilification and demonization of ICE agents used in political rhetoric “are contributing to the surge in violent threats and assaults of our officers.”
“This violence against law enforcement must end,” McLaughlin added.
On Oct. 9, DHS arrested Eduardo Aguilar, 23, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who was living in Dallas. Aguilar allegedly posted a TikTok video in Spanish soliciting the murder of ICE agents, the DHS said.
Prosecutors say Aguilar’s video expressed a threat against agents when, according to a translation, he said that he needed “ten dude in Dallas with determination … who aren’t afraid to [die],” and added that they would be paid $10,000 for each ICE agent.
“Threats against our law enforcement officers are completely unacceptable,” acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson said in a statement following Aguilar’s arrest.
Also in Texas, DHS said an ICE officer’s spouse received a threatening phone call in which the caller said the spouse’s family would die like the Nazis did after World War II.
In September, three women were indicted by a federal grand jury for livestreaming their pursuit of an ICE agent to his home and then posting the agent’s address on Instagram. Two of the arrestees were from Southern California and one was from Colorado, according to the Department of Justice.
Another agent’s spouse was sent a Facebook message by a man in Massachusetts, saying the spouse would receive retribution, the DHS reported.
ICE agents have also been likened to the Gestapo and secret police by critics of immigration operations and by public officials, according to the White House.
DHS urged the public to report any harassment against ICE officers by calling 866-DHS-2-ICE.
