DHS fires back at Democrats for 'beyond the pale' rhetoric as ICE agents face wave of violent threats
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is continuing to call on Democrats to tone down the rhetoric against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as riots not only persisted in Los Angeles Sunday night, but agents continue to face threats of doxxing and violence.
The department has taken issue with not only California leaders but also House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
"The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a Saturday statement. "The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens."
"Make no mistake, Democrat politicians like Hakeem Jeffries, Mayor Wu of Boston, Tim Walz, and Mayor Bass of Los Angeles are contributing to the surge in assaults of our ICE officers through their repeated vilification and demonization of ICE," McLaughlin stated. "From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi Gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end." The department says there's been a 413% increase in assaults against ICE agents, which comes as the riots in Los Angeles are centered against the presence of the agency in the city.
Wu and Jeffries recently faced criticism for their comments on ICE agents masking while conducting sweeps to conceal their identity for safety reasons."Every single ICE agent who is engaged in this aggressive overreach and are trying to hide their identities from the American people will be unsuccessful in doing that," Jeffries said on Capitol Hill.
"This is America. This is not the Soviet Union," he added, saying identification is needed to comply with the law and have proper "transparency." "We're not behind the Iron Curtain. This is not the 1930s. And every single one of them, no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes, will of course be identified."
Wu was slammed for comments where she drew a tie between ICE and neo-Nazi group Nationalist Social Club-131 for the masking decision, which DHS called "sickening," according to the Boston Herald.
"I don't know of any police department that routinely wears masks," Wu said. "We know that there are other groups that routinely wear masks. NSC-131 routinely wears masks."
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024, also controversially drew a comparison to the Nazis in May.
"I'm gonna start with the flashing red light — Donald Trump's modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets," Walz claimed at a University of Minnesota law school commencement speech. "They're in unmarked vans, wearing masks, being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons. No chance to mount a defense. Not even a chance to kiss a loved one goodbye. Just grabbed up by masked agents, shoved into those vans, and disappeared."
In California, the anti-ICE riots triggered an order from President Donald Trump to deploy to the National Guard, which Newsom is expected to take legal action against. Newsom repeatedly has said that the Trump administration has instigated the situation "to manufacture chaos and violence," and has said that those who are committing "violent acts" will face legal repercussions and are playing into the president's hands.
"Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel," Newsom stated Friday. "Donald Trump's chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America's economy."
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called on residents not to "engage in violence and chaos" and to not "give the administration what they want," Sunday in an X post, but faced scrutiny for Friday comments saying that "these tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city."
When Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom's office about DHS' comments, they sent a link to a post in which Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons credited Newsom for complying with ICE detainers for those already behind bars.
Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Wu, Bass, Walz and Jeffries and did not receive replies.
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