Only days after acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons warned Democrat leadership that their hostile rhetoric was riling up activists and endangering ICE officers, violent anti-ICE riots began to break out in Los Angeles.
On Friday evening, a mob of over one thousand “surrounded a federal law enforcement building and assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, [and] defaced buildings,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detailed in a statement.
Fox News reported that “ICE operations in LA this week resulted in the arrest of 118 illegal immigrants, including five gang members and those with prior criminal histories of drug trafficking, assault, cruelty to children, domestic violence, robbery, and alien smuggling.”
Anti-immigration enforcement protests in Los Angeles erupted after the raids, escalating quickly over the weekend and leading to clashes with police.
LA Mayor Karen Bass on Friday accused ICE agents of “sow[ing] terror” through their recent arrests, placing her support behind criminals who are in the United States illegally.
The DHS rebuked the mayor’s comments, writing on X: “The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless protestors is despicable. These men and women work every day, putting their lives on the line, to protect and defend the lives of American citizens. Mayor Bass, ICE is not responsible for ‘sowing a sense of terror’ the protestors YOU enabled are.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the mobilization of the National Guard to support the Los Angeles Police in halting the violent riots, adding that active-duty Marines in the area are also on “high alert.”
“The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil; a dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge national security risk,” Hegseth wrote. “Under President Trump, violence & destruction against federal agents & federal facilities will NOT be tolerated. It’s common sense.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also issued a statement:
“In recent days, violent mobs have attacked ICE Officers and Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations in Los Angeles, California. These operations are essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens. That is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester. The Trump Administration has a zero tolerance policy for criminal behavior and violence, especially when that violence is aimed at law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs. These criminals will be arrested and swiftly brought to justice. The Commander-in-Chief will ensure the laws of the United States are executed fully and completely.”
DHS further highlighted a broader view of the violence faced by agents: “Our ICE enforcement officers are facing a 413% increase in assaults against them. Disturbingly, in recent days, ICE officers’ family members have been doxxed and targeted as well.”
