HOUSTON— A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was seriously injured on Nov. 3 during an arrest operation in Houston, CBS News reported.
The agent sustained facial burns and a deep cut requiring 13 stitches after being struck with a metal coffee cup, according to the report. DHS said the suspect, a previously deported Salvadoran national with past convictions for sexual assault of a minor and multiple DUIs, allegedly attacked the officer during the arrest attempt. He had reentered the U.S. illegally and is now in ICE custody.
The incident comes amid a sharp rise in threats against federal immigration officers, according to DHS. The agency reported in October that death threats targeting ICE agents have increased by 8,000%, citing a spike in online harassment and violent rhetoric.
Last month, a Mexican national in Dallas was arrested after allegedly offering money on TikTok for the killing of ICE agents, according to the report. DHS has also documented threatening phone calls and social media posts directed at agents and their families in Texas and Washington state. In one case, an ICE officer’s spouse received a call containing violent threats and comparisons to Nazi war crimes, according to DHS.
In another instance, a voicemail to an ICE employee referenced the potential public exposure of agents’ identities and called for harm against them.
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Gregory Bovino, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, said in a recent interview that the rise in threats reflects a broader increase in violence against federal law enforcement. He said that both criminal groups and some U.S. citizens have been involved in attacks on agents, including in cities like Chicago.
Bovino also alleged that gangs such as the Latin Kings had placed bounties on federal officers, prompting aggressive enforcement responses. “Don’t put a bounty on our heads — we’re going to come after yours,” he said.
At a recent press conference in Indiana, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called the attacks on agents “unacceptable” and emphasized the personal toll on officers and their families.
In a joint bulletin issued Oct. 1, the FBI and DHS warned of escalating violent tactics by domestic extremists targeting ICE personnel. The bulletin cited incidents in at least three states since June, including a rooftop shooting in Dallas in October that wounded detainees in ICE transport vehicles.
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In September, a gunman opened fire on a Dallas ICE facility, killing one detainee and injuring two others before taking his own life. Authorities later recovered a casing marked “ANTI-ICE,” and the attack is believed to have been ideologically motivated.
DHS has set up a national tip line and online portal for reporting threats against ICE officers.
