Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, speaks at the border with Mexico, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Nogales, Ariz. (Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged Republicans earlier this month to order the unmasking of ICE agents, describing the step as one of many "guardrails" needed to protect the public and earn their support in resolving the DHS shutdown.
Jeffries last week told reporters in the Capitol that unmasking federal agents is a "hard red line" for Democrats as Congress debated funding for DHS and ultimately failed to come to an agreement, the Associated Press reported.
The Trump administration has cited concerns about the number and severity of threats against ICE officers and has vowed to aggressively prosecute individuals who target agents or solicit violence.
Homan pointed to DHS reports from January citing a 1,500% increase in assaults against ICE personnel. Violent threats against ICE officers have also soared by a staggering 8,000%, according to data shared by the Department of Homeland Security in October.
The release from DHS ticked through a number of violent threats that have been made against ICE personnel and their family members, including a voicemail left for the spouse of a Texas-based immigration officer.
"I don’t know how you let your husband work for ICE, and you sleep at night … I hope your kids get deported by accident," the voicemail said. "How do you sleep? …. Did you hear what happened to the Nazis after World War II? Because it’s what’s going to happen to your family."
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks alongside President Donald Trump at the White House. (Getty Images)
Months earlier, Alan W. Filion, a California teenager, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for allegedly placing 375 "swatting," hoaxing, or doxxing calls that involved ICE and other federal officers.
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Fillon's "serial doxxing" campaign involved falsely reported bomb threats or imminent mass shootings at public schools and religious institutions across the country, according to the Justice Department — prompting an emergency response from myriad federal agencies and first responders, and diverting their ability to respond to real crises.
The Justice Department has cited Fillon's case as a benchmark of sorts for how it will prosecute other individuals found to be weaponizing law enforcement response systems.
The remarks come as Democrats continued to assail ICE as the DHS funding shutdown drags on. Schumer blasted ICE on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday as "rogue" forces that appear almost "trained to be nasty and mean and cruel, and go way beyond what ordinary police departments do."
"They need to be reined in, and they need to stop the violence," Schumer added.
Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news. She previously covered national politics at the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others. You can send tips to Breanne at Breanne.Deppisch@fox.com, or follow her on X at @breanne_dep.
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