War on badges: House GOP targets anti-police rhetoric amid ICE attacks

FIRST ON FOX: The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing Dec. 3 examining anti-law enforcement rhetoric — and how it might be tied to an increase in violence against law enforcement officers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. 

The hearing comes in response to several attacks against ICE officers and as the Department of Homeland Security reports that violent encounters against federal immigration officials have surged in recent months. 

“It is unacceptable that the brave men and women of law enforcement, who risk their lives daily to secure the homeland and protect the public, are facing targeted violence from radicals and international gangs on U.S. soil,” House Homeland Security Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., said in a Monday statement to Fox News Digital. 

“With assaults against officers skyrocketing and heightened threats of political violence across America, Congress must support the mission of law enforcement and ensure our federal agencies have the tools, resources, and partnerships needed to keep these dedicated professionals safe on the job as they work to protect our communities,” Garbarino said.

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Those who will appear before the committee Dec. 3 for the hearing, titled “When Badges Become Targets: How Anti-Law Enforcement Rhetoric Fuels Violence Against Officers,” include Michael Hughes, executive director of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association; Patrick Yoes, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police; and Jonathan Thompson, executive director and CEO of the National Sheriffs’ Association. 

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There have been a series of shootings at ICE facilities in 2025, and the Department of Homeland Security said in July that assaults against ICE officers and other federal immigration agents have increased nearly 700% in comparison to 2024. Although the agency reported 10 assault incidents between Jan. 1, 2024, and June 30, 2024, that number increased to 79 reported assaults in the same period of time in 2025. 

Recent cases of violence against law enforcement include a shooting near ICE’s Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas, in July, where an Alvarado Police Department officer was shot in the neck. On Wednesday, five people pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges stemming from the attack.

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More recently, a shooter opened fire at an ICE facility in Dallas in September, and two detainees died. At the time, the FBI said it would investigate the matter as a “targeted attack” against ICE, and the Department of Homeland Security said it had identified shell casings with “anti-ICE” messages.

“Federal law enforcement agencies play a critical role in upholding the rule of law, protecting our national security, and supporting both state and local authorities,” Rep. August Pfluger, the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee’s counterterrorism and intelligence subcommittee, said in a Monday statement to Fox News Digital.

“The recent deadly shooting at a Dallas ICE facility wasn’t an isolated attack — it was part of a broader pattern of violence spurred on by anti-law enforcement rhetoric and heightened political extremism perpetrated by radicals on the Left,” said Pfluger, who is from Texas.

Meanwhile, the White House previously has urged Democrats to tamp down their language toward ICE as they challenge the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. 

For example, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., blamed ICE for acting “like a terrorist force” in June. She later stood by her comments in a CNN interview, after the White House pressed her for an apology.