The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed on Thursday a dramatic surge in vehicular assaults on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, citing a staggering 3,200% increase over the past year. This alarming trend reached a tragic point with an incident on Wednesday in Minneapolis, where an ICE officer fatally shot a driver during a protest.

According to data from the DHS, this recent shooting is part of a troubling pattern of incidents where vehicles have been weaponized against law enforcement personnel, occasionally resulting in injuries. These assaults are not isolated, but rather indicative of a broader rise in aggression towards ICE agents.

Apart from the vehicular threats, the DHS has also documented a concerning jump in overall hostility, with assaults on agents increasing by over 1,300% and death threats skyrocketing by 8,000% in the same timeframe.

The department attributes this surge in attacks to what it describes as “radical rhetoric” from sanctuary city politicians. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, for instance, publicly denounced ICE, urging them to “get the f— out of Minneapolis” in the wake of Wednesday’s shooting.

In another example of these tensions, an ICE officer suffered a leg injury during a traffic stop in September in Florida. The officer was struck by a vehicle driven by Henry Isaul Garcia, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, who reversed his car into the officer. This incident is one of many highlighting the increasing risks faced by ICE agents on the job.

“Sanctuary politicians have created an environment that encourages rampant assaults on law enforcement,” DHS said. 

Since Jan. 21, 2025, ICE officers experienced 66 car attacks, compared with just two during the same period the previous year, resulting in a 3,200% increase.

During the first year of the Trump administration, from Jan. 20 to Dec. 31, 2025, DHS officials reported 275 assaults, up from 19 during the same period in 2024.

An illegal immigrant from Venezuela, Luis Jesus Acosta Gutierrez, was arrested after “intentionally ramming an officer’s vehicle into a tree,” DHS said in December. (Department of Homeland Security)

“This is a horrific 1,347% increase in assaults against ICE officers,” DHS said. 

Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin blamed sanctuary leaders for the violence, arguing that their rhetoric “demonizes our law enforcement” officers, who are targeting criminal illegal immigrants in the U.S.

“This unprecedented increase in violence against law enforcement is a direct result of sanctuary politicians and the media creating an environment that demonizes our law enforcement and encourages rampant assaults against them. Dangerous criminals – whether they be illegal aliens or U.S. citizens – are assaulting law enforcement and turning their vehicles into weapons to attack law enforcement,” McLaughlin said in a statement. 

“Still, the brave men and women of DHS will not be deterred and will continue arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens. Anyone who attacks law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Two separate car attacks took place during Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago area, authorities said in October. (Department of Homeland Security)

According to the DHS, a criminal illegal immigrant from Venezuela and a suspected Tren de Aragua member, Luis Jesus Acosta Gutierrez, intentionally “rammed a law enforcement vehicle into a tree” around December. 

During Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago area, two criminal illegal immigrants “weaponized their vehicles in deliberate attempts to ram and injure officers” in separate incidents, authorities said in October.

An ICE agent was also injured in Florida after an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, Henry Isaul Garcia, “put his car in reverse, hitting an ICE officer in the leg—nearly crushing him,” authorities said in September.

DHS said 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. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”