At left, residents surround federal and Border Patrol agents after an immigrant raid on Atlantic Boulevard in the city of Bell, Calif., June 19, 2025. At right are anti-ICE protesters. (Getty Images)
DHS recorded 10 assault events from Jan. 21, 2024, to June 30, 2024. From the day after President Donald Trump took office earlier this year until Monday, the department recorded 79 assault events. DHS said the true number is likely higher. They are happening at such a fast pace, some assault reports may not be accounted for yet.
This comes as Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have called for ICE agents to be de-masked.
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In June, Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., introduced a bill, the No Masks for ICE Act, to bar ICE agents from wearing face coverings during enforcement actions. Earlier in June, Jeffries declared that all ICE agents who perpetrate "aggressive overreach" and attempt to conceal "their identities from the American people, will be unsuccessful in doing that." They will all be identified "no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes," he asserted, saying that is what the law requires.
Speaking on behalf of himself and his partner, the agent said that despite Jeffries' threats, they believe "the agency or the administration will do their best to protect us."
A protester waves the Mexican flag in front of a burning Waymo vehicle during an anti-ICE protest in downtown Los Angeles June 8, 2025. (Getty Images)
Despite the disruptions, the agent said protesters only give illegals "false hope" that they will be able to evade arrest and deportation.
"They're telling them, ‘If you fight this, you might win.’ And that's not good legal advice at all," he said.
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"If people come out, and it creates more of a problem, a lot of times the ICE agents just say, ‘Hey, this area is too heated up. We're going to go somewhere else,’" he explained. "We're not short on targets. So, if I'm in town X, and they're outside my car yelling and screaming or giving my agents a hard time, they can always go to town Y and look for another target."
Ultimately, the agent said, all de-masking immigration officials would do is allow them to be doxxed and endanger not only their families but their communities.
"You got people also within my agency and this career field, they work at a church part-time as a clergy person, or maybe they're involved in Girl Scouts, maybe they're a baseball coach," the agent explained.
"The last thing that these people want is for some angry person or for some agitator to show up at a baseball game that he or she's coaching and put the attention on them or threaten their families or their way of life."
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ice-agent-shares-fears-about-family-safety-assaults-officials-surge