US Citizen Tried to Buy a Gun to ‘Kill ICE Agents’: DHS

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is investigating a female U.S. citizen who allegedly tried to buy a gun and who said she wanted to “protect herself from ICE Agents, and also to kill ICE Agents,” the agency said in a Jan. 27 statement.

The woman allegedly made the purchase attempt on two separate occasions in Kenmore, New York. The issue is being investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the New York State Police, and Homeland Security Investigations. More information regarding the suspect, including whether she was in custody, was not provided by DHS.

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, said immigration officers were now facing more assaults, vehicle-ramming attacks, and attempts to kill them.

“Now, we have an American citizen purchasing a gun with the intent to KILL our officers,” she said.

“Comparing ICE day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols has consequences.

“The men and women of ICE and [Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)] are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, they just want to go home to their families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop.

“DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s message is clear: you will not stop or slow us down. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law.”

The department said that people who lay hands on a law enforcement officer would be prosecuted to the “fullest extent of the law.”

DHS blamed “radical rhetoric” from sanctuary politicians for a 1,300 percent jump in assaults against ICE officers and a 3,200 percent surge in vehicular attacks.

Immigration officers and agencies have faced criticism from multiple Democratic politicians.

In a Jan. 27 statement, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown in the state “a campaign of organized brutality against the people of our state.”

Walz criticized immigration agents for the shooting and killing of two people in Minnesota, and accused them of attacking “countless” protesters and bystanders.

One of the deaths was of protester Renee Good, who was shot by an ICE officer on Jan. 7 as she allegedly attempted to hit the agent with her vehicle during an enforcement operation. Federal authorities say that the officer acted in self-defense.

The second death took place on Jan. 24 when Alex Pretti, 37, was shot by a federal officer in Minneapolis. Pretti had allegedly approached Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun while they were attempting to arrest an illegal immigrant wanted for assault. Pretti was shot during a struggle to disarm him.

The governor alleged that masked agents have abducted children, separated children from parents, aggressively pulled people over and demanded to see their papers, broken into the homes of elderly people without warrants, and racially profiled off-duty police officers.

In mid-January, a group of Democratic lawmakers joined a rally against the Trump administration’s immigration policies and demanded that ICE and CBP leave Minnesota and cities across the United States, according to a Jan. 13 statement from the office of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).

“How many more lives lost before we see real accountability? It’s time to end the terror in our communities, stop the shattering of families, and cease the takeover of American streets by masked federal agents. It’s time to get ICE and CBP out,” Padilla said.

Attacks on Immigration Officers

In a Jan. 26 statement, DHS said ICE officers were facing an 8,000 percent jump in death threats against them and their families.

The agency posted the transcript of a threatening voicemail received by an ICE officer, in which a person calls the officer a “fascist” and a traitor to the American people, while wishing for his death as well as that of his wife and parents.

Despite facing a surge in violence, ICE officers “risk their lives every single day to remove murderers, pedophiles, rapists, terrorists, and gang members from American neighborhoods,” McLaughlin said.

The administration is taking action against people attacking immigration personnel.

ICE announced in a Jan. 27 statement that a criminal illegal immigrant from Guatemala was recently sentenced to eight months in prison and one year of supervised release for assaulting ICE officials during an enforcement action.

The perpetrator attacked multiple officials, hitting, biting, and head-butting them, according to ICE.

“He overstayed a nonimmigrant visa by more than four years, and he’s been sentenced to a crime that falls under the Laken Riley Act,” ICE Boston acting Field Office Director Dave Wesling said.

“When we initially arrested him, he attacked our officers and a DEA agent—and under this administration, there is zero tolerance for those who violently assault the brave men and women of ICE Boston who are on the ground fighting to keep our communities safe.”

The public can report incidents of harassment and doxing against ICE officers by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or submitting a tip online.