White House points finger at Democrats for rise in attacks on ICE

By Sarah Roderick-Fitch
The Center Square

As more Democrats push to unmask U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, the White House is pointing fingers at a surge in targeted violence against law enforcement agents.

The White House put out a fact sheet this week highlighting the rise in violence against ICE agents, a day after legislation was introduced in Congress by several Democrats, citing transparency in an effort to prohibit federal immigration officials from covering their faces.

The Trump administration claims ICE agents are "facing a 700% surge in assaults," blaming Democrats as a result of "dangerous, inflammatory rhetoric" directed at immigration officials.

In the last week, several immigration officials have been injured in attacks around the country, according to the White House.

On Monday, a Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, was shot up, injuring three law enforcement personnel.

On Independence Day, July 4, two ICE facilities in Texas and Oregon were targeted in attacks by what the White House describes as alleged "leftist criminals."

In Alvarado, Texas, the White House says, "assailants lured officers out of the building and opened fire, shooting one officer in the neck." In addition, vehicles at the ICE facility were defaced "with anti-ICE graffiti—including 'ICE pig' and 'F—you pigs," according to the Trump Administration.

On the same day in Portland, Ore., which has been a hotbed for political violence in recent years, the White House says, "deranged rioters viciously assaulted federal agents" at the ICE facility. "Officers were kicked, punched, and targeted with an 'incendiary device,'" according to the White House.

The attacks follow a recent violent uprising of attacks on immigration officials in Los Angeles that erupted into riots in the city, leading President Donald Trump to send in the military to restore law and order.

Democrats have accused immigration officials of carrying out masked raids in unmarked tactical gear, with some comparing the agents to the "Gestapo" or "brown shirts," harkening back to Nazi Germany.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., one of the senators spearheading the legislation, claims the operations "lack of transparency" while endangering "public safety by causing confusion, fear, and mistrust, especially in communities already subjected to heightened immigration scrutiny."

Padilla further claims the masking "increases risks for law enforcement personnel," adding that "individuals cannot distinguish real officers from impersonators."

"When federal immigration agents show up and pull someone off the street in plainclothes with their face obscured and no visible identification," Padilla wrote in a news release. "It only escalates tensions and spreads fear while shielding federal agents from basic accountability."

If the proposed legislation, the VISIBLE Act, is approved, it would require immigration officers to display their agency, last name or badge number. It would also prohibit agents from wearing nonmedical face coverings; however, it does make exceptions for "environmental hazards or covert operations."

Border czar Tom Homan has been vocal in recent days, criticizing rhetoric from Democrats.

"The rhetoric against the men and women of ICE is skyrocketing, especially by members of Congress," Homan told Fox News on Monday. "We have senators, we have congresspeople [who] compare ICE to the Nazis, compare ICE to racists, and it just continues. So the public thinks, well, if a member of Congress can attack ICE, why can't we?"