The rhetoric from Democrats continues to escalate regarding ICE agents who are doing nothing more than their jobs.
Since Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office, his administration has reported that attacks on agents are up by more than 1,000%, which is just horrifying.
While Democrats downplay the situation, yet another incident just took place during an operation in which an agent was forced to draw their weapon.
Democrats will never accept this as fact, but it is hard to disqualify their rhetoric as a key contributor to the rise of attacks against agents.
In late November, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin announced, “After months of Democrat politicians comparing ICE to Nazis, the Gestapo, slave patrols, and even encouraging illegal aliens to resist arrest, our brave ICE law enforcement have been assaulted 238 times.”
She continued, “Our law enforcement officers have had Molotov cocktails and rocks thrown at them, been shot at, had cars used as weapons against them, and been physically assaulted. Sanctuary politicians need to tone the rhetoric down before a law enforcement officer is killed. They should be thanking these brave law enforcement officers who risk their lives every single day to arrest pedophiles, rapists, murderers, gang members, and terrorists from our neighborhoods.”
It still shocks me that we have members of Congress who have referred to federal agents as the Gestapo and made other Nazi comparisons simply because they do not like Trump’s immigration agenda.
Two key examples I use when discussing this problem are recent attacks that occurred in Texas and Illinois.
On Nov. 9, Border Patrol agents were surrounded by an angry mob in a Chicago suburb while trying to apprehend a subject. Over and above the angry crowd, shots were fired at them by someone driving a black Jeep.
Going back a bit further, on July 4, ICE agents were again attacked, with shots fired, at an ICE detention facility in Texas. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, at the time, stated, “This escalation in violence is incomprehensible, and those responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
He continued, “This is precisely what we have been warning against, as disinformation and dangerous politically-motivated rhetoric spreads. We are thankful to Alvarado Police Department responding officers and that the officer injured has been discharged from the hospital. We will continue to work with the FBI and Texas Rangers as they investigate and prosecute those involved.”
On Wednesday, ICE agents were conducting an operation in Maryland, and they were once again threatened.
The agents had pulled over a suspect who has since been identified as Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins. He refused to follow the agent’s instructions and then threatened to use his vehicle as a weapon against the agents. The agency reported, “The driver refused and attempted to flee, then weaponized his vehicle and began ramming his van into several ICE vehicles. He then drove his van directly at ICE officers, attempting to run them over.”
The statement continued, “Fearing for their lives and public safety, the ICE officers defensively fired their service weapons, striking the driver. Sousa-Martins then wrecked his van between two buildings, injuring the passenger.”
I have covered this dilemma fairly extensively on these pages, and I have constantly warned that the situation will eventually lead to loss of life. It seems as though with every passing day, we move one step closer to that happening, be it an agent or a suspect who suffers that fate. When it does happen, make no mistake about it, that blood will be on the hands of Democrats who continue to spew rhetoric solely to generate outrage at agents.
