Democrats have intensified their rhetoric against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and some Americans appear to be acting on that sentiment. In several instances, individuals have taken matters into their own hands, threatening or even attacking the agency tasked with enforcing immigration laws.
In North Carolina, one man has been charged after allegedly calling police and threatening to shoot and kill ICE officers following an enforcement operation that left him enraged. “I’m going to kill these bastards if I see them doing what they’re doing,” Johnathan Trent Thomas said, according to court documents.
In California, a couple has been charged after allegedly tailing ICE agents in a vehicle and attempting to provoke a collision by performing a reckless “brake-check,” effectively playing a dangerous game of chicken with federal officers. “We thought we were helping the community or something by trying to stop you guys,” Gustavo Torres told investigators after the crash attempt, according to court documents.
Federal prosecutors have charged a state judge in Wisconsin with obstructing ICE by allegedly helping an illegal immigrant evade arrest, as well as a judge in New Mexico whose family is accused of harboring a Venezuelan gang member.
Prominent Democrats, including former vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, have frequently likened ICE to Nazi-era organizations such as the SS and Gestapo, drawing sharp criticism from immigration enforcement advocates. The language used by the judge, as well as in the North Carolina and California incidents, mirrors the rhetoric of immigration rights activists and some members of Congress who have accused ICE of being “out of control,” the Washington Times reported.
“There should not be additional threats originating from elected leaders against those doing their jobs,” Charles Marino, a former Homeland Security Department official, told Congress on Tuesday. He specifically mentioned the incident this month in New Jersey, where three Democratic members of Congress attempted to gain access to an ICE detention facility.
Rep. LaMonica McIver, a Democrat from New Jersey, was charged this week with assaulting, resisting, and impeding ICE officers during a recent incident. According to court documents filed by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent Robert Tansey, McIver and two other members of Congress entered the ICE facility without authorization while a protest against the agency was unfolding outside. They reportedly slipped through the gate as it opened to allow a vehicle through.
Shortly after, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka arrived. Initially turned away, he returned with his security detail and was mistakenly allowed inside under the assumption he was part of the congressional group. An HSI agent confronted Baraka and warned that he would be arrested if he refused to leave. He was subsequently taken into custody, though the charges against him were dropped on Monday.
During the confrontation, Agent Tansey said the members of Congress got involved, with Ms. McIver “yelling ‘Hell no! Hell no! Hell no!’” the Times reported. She and the other members then formed a wall to block the mayor’s arrest. That was when Ms. McIver “slammed her forearm into the body” of an agent. She also pushed an ICE officer, the agent said.
