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A federal special agent who works on deportations slammed a “dangerous” trend of Democratic politicians and candidates vilifying law enforcement and using anti-ICE protests as campaign backdrops to gain attention and notoriety.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the agent criticized Democrats for using ICE agents as campaign props, especially in light of a deadly gunman’s attack at an ICE facility in Dallas on Wednesday.
The agent said that third-party bystanders who “have been riled up to believe that I’m kidnapping somebody” present a significant danger to not only the operation but also the agents, the immigrants involved and the public.
This danger was on full display on Wednesday when a gunman carrying rounds with anti-ICE messages opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas, killing one detainee and injuring two others. Sources familiar with the investigation identified the alleged attacker as Joshua Jahn, 29.
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From left to right: Kat Abughazaleh, an activist, former reporter and Democratic candidate for Congress in Illinois; Newark Democratic Mayor and former gubernatorial candidate Ras Baraka; New York City Democratic Comptroller and former mayoral candidate Brad Lander. (WBBM; Getty; Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Jahn fired “indiscriminately” at the ICE building, as well as at a van in the sally port where the victims were shot, the Department of Homeland Security said. The three detainees were in an unmarked transport van when they were shot, before Jahn took his own life at around 7 a.m., according to the sources.
In light of the shooting, DHS and President Donald Trump called on Democrats to tone down their anti-ICE rhetoric.
Yet, in recent weeks and months, many leading Democrats have ramped up the rhetoric against ICE agents, accusing them of racially profiling people and terrorizing communities. Some Democrats have gone as far as attempting to interfere with ICE operations themselves.
Last week, Kat Abughazaleh, an activist and Democratic congressional candidate, posted a video of herself participating in a protest outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, with the caption, “This is what it looks like when ICE violates our First Amendment rights.”
The video showed armed, masked federal officials forcibly removing Abughazaleh, who is also wearing a mask, from the front of an ICE vehicle that she appeared to be blocking. Other agents can be seen directing Abughazaleh and a group of protesters to get out of the way of the vehicle. One agent pushes Abughazaleh, who, despite resisting, flops onto the street.
Another angle of the incident shows Abughazaleh immediately getting back up and charging the agents, who again push her back. Other protesters can be heard taunting the agents and shouting expletives.
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In another X post, Abughazaleh wrote, “What ICE just did to me was a violent abuse of power — and it’s still nothing compared to what they’re doing to immigrant communities.”
In response, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused Abughazaleh of being a “fame-hungry, cable TV candidate” who was “so desperate for her 15 minutes of fame that she will go so far as to put our law enforcement at risk and obstruct justice.”
A spokesperson for ICE told Fox News Digital that Abughazaleh’s “irresponsible behavior inciting violence and encouraging lawlessness puts a selfish publicity stunt over the safety of officers, facility employees and detainees.”
Last week, New York City Democratic Comptroller Brad Lander staged a sit-in protest at ICE offices in the city. The group reportedly attempted to force their way into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices and holding cells, demanding access to the facility.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested by DHS agents on June 17, 2025. (Brad Lander/X)
ICE sources claim officers had to secure doors with locks and zip ties after protesters pushed to enter, with additional security now posted on the floor. According to ICE officials, several “egregious criminal aliens” are being held in the cells at the site.
In June, Lander, then a Democratic mayoral candidate, was arrested by federal officials for attempting to interfere with an ICE arrest inside a New York City courthouse.
Video footage taken of Lander’s arrest, which was on June 17, shows a chaotic scene in which Lander is hanging onto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they escorted a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza. He repeatedly asked officials if they had a judicial warrant.
“I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant!” Lander said in the video. “Where is it?! Where is the warrant?!”
The video shows federal officials eventually separating Lander from the immigrant whom the officials were targeting, and they proceed to handcuff Lander. He can be heard repeatedly insisting they do not have the authority to arrest him. One agent seemed to say that he was obstructing an arrest, to which he replied, “I’m not obstructing. I’m standing right here in the hallway. I asked to see the judicial warrant.”
Lander’s arrest came just about a month after then Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, was arrested for trespassing on an ICE detainee facility called Delaney Hall.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is seen speaking after exiting the courthouse on May 15, 2025, in Newark, New Jersey. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Baraka, along with three Democratic members of Congress, rushed through the gates of the facility as the gates were opened to let in an ICE vehicle, according to DHS.
While these instances and the Dallas shooting garnered national headlines, the agent said that tense, dangerous situations involving protesters interfering with operations have become a regular occurrence for agents, especially in liberal sanctuary jurisdictions.
“When they come to you and they’re yelling and screaming at you, I don’t know who you are. I’ve never met you. You’re calling me, whatever you’re calling me. That gets very, very stressful,” said the agent.
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Federal agents stand guard during a protest against federal immigration enforcement raids at ICE’s Delaney Hall Detention Facility on June 13, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (Andres Kudacki/Getty Images)
“When they’re yelling at me, at the same time, they’re attracting the attention of other people. But I’m trying to focus on getting this person handcuffed, processed, interviewing them, determining their alienage, while someone’s yelling at me or someone’s getting in my face,” the agent explained.
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“That gets dangerous, it really does,” the agent added.
The agent pointed out that ICE agents and other federal law enforcement officials are simply enforcing U.S. laws which have been passed by politicians elected by the very people harassing them.
“At the end of the day, the law is as written,” the agent said. “What other laws do they not want to enforce? Elder fraud: Should we ignore that? Should we ignore child slavery? Which laws should we ignore?”
Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller, Cameron Arcand, Sandy Ibrahim, Emma Bussey and Bill Melugin contributed to this article.
