ICE Agents Under Attack, Still Show ‘Unwavering Resolve’ [WATCH]

ICE Director Todd Lyons said the agency has expanded enforcement operations, increased hiring, and faced escalating threats against personnel under the leadership of President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

“Under the leadership of President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the men and women of ICE have been empowered to do exactly what they’re trying to do, arrest and remove illegal aliens and criminals from our communities,” Lyons said.

“We are enhancing public safety, securing our national security, and finally, restoring integrity the immigration system that had been allowed to collapse.”

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Lyons said ICE has expanded cooperation with state and local law enforcement through the 287(g) program.

“We have supercharged our partnerships with state and local law enforcement, empowering officers around the country through the 287(g) program to help ICE, identify and remove criminal aliens,” he said.

“Those partnerships have increased more than 900% since President Trump took office, and our communities are safer for it.”

He also pointed to what he described as an unprecedented hiring campaign.

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“I am also proud of our agency’s unprecedented hiring campaign that led to hiring of more than 12,000 officers and special agents in less than a year, and more than 222,000 individuals submitted applications,” Lyons said.

“This expansion of a well trained and well vetted workforce will help further ICE’s abilities to execute presidents and secretary’s bold agenda.”

Before outlining broader operations, Lyons addressed what he described as growing dangers facing ICE agents, including incidents in Minnesota.

“Before discussing our broader operations, I must address the situation in Minnesota and the dangers that ICE agents and officers face nationwide while the investigations remain ongoing,” he said.

“I’m encouraged that some Minnesota officials are finally signaling the willingness to cooperate with ICE, but let me be clear, promises are not enough. We need action in the wake of the unprecedented border crisis of the previous administration, ISIS stepped into the breach to enforce the law. This commitment has a cost.”

Lyons said threats and assaults against agents have increased sharply.

“We are facing the deadliest operating environment our agents agency’s history,” he said.

“In fiscal year 2025 death threats against ICE personnel increased more than 8,000% assaults on officers have skyrocketed over 14 100% one officer in Minnesota had his finger bitten off by a protester egged on by elected officials characterizing our offices as Gestapo of secret police, the families of personnel ICE personnel have been made to feel unsafe in their homes.”

He added, “I know this first hit firsthand because my own family was targeted, but let me send a message to anyone who thinks they can intimidate us, you will fail.”

Despite the threats, Lyons said ICE continues to carry out enforcement operations.

“Despite these perils, our offices continue to execute their mission with unwavering resolve, and we are only getting started,” he said.

“ICE remains committed to the fundamental principles that those who illegally enter our country must be held accountable.”

Lyons said that from Jan. 20, 2025, through January 2026, ICE conducted nearly 379,000 arrests.

“Since beginning of the second Trump administration, we have achieved historic results from January 20, 2025, through January 2026, ISIS conducted nearly 379,000 arrests,” he said.

“Among those arrests were more than 7000 suspected gang members and over 1400 known or suspected terrorists.”

He said the agency has carried out more than 475,000 removals in the last year.

“The President tasked us with mass deportation, and we are fulfilling that mandate thanks to the resources provided by this Congress. We are ramping up detention capacities and removal flights daily. In the last year alone, we conducted over 475,000 removals.”

Lyons also addressed the role of transnational criminal organizations in illegal immigration and narcotics trafficking.

“It’s a brutal reality that criminal immigration today is organized by sophisticated, ruthless, transnational criminal organizations. These includes cartels and transnational gangs,” he said.

“President Trump has regularly designated at Forest foreign terrorist organizations. The only way to defeat them is to destroy their revenue.”

Within Homeland Security Investigations, Lyons said agents have focused on narcotics seizures and criminal arrests.

“Within Homeland Security Investigations, our special agents are delivering critical outcomes in the fight against transnational crime. We are seizing fentanyl before it kills our children and dismantling the networks that poison our communities,” he said.

“In FY 25 alone, we seized more than 2.5 million pounds in narcotics, a 50% increase from the previous year and a critical blow to transnational organization groups everywhere. HSI, criminal arrests are at the highest point in history.”

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