Attacks on ICE Officers Are Way Up, but Still Undercounted, Immigration Expert Says

An immigration expert is sounding the alarm about the rise in violence against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. 

There has been an astonishing 830% increase in assaults against ICE officers, according to congressional testimony from Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project. He said that number is likely a conservative estimate.

“It’s probably five to 10 times that because they’re not arresting people at the rates they should be. You know, all the rock-throwers, the spitters, everything else, it’s more likely than not that they just don’t get arrested,” Howell told The Daily Signal.

The Oversight Project began in 2022 as an arm of The Heritage Foundation and has since become an independent group dedicated to bringing greater transparency to government. Howell testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security last week.

Howell attributed the astounding rise in violence to Democrats’ messaging excusing the physical abuse of federal officials.

“Democrats are mainstreaming political violence against ICE and Border Patrol. In some instances, they are participating in the violence to show the rest of their insane and mentally ill base that it’s OK to be violent. Examples include [California Sen. Alex] Padilla acting like a thug. [New Jersey Rep. LaMonica] McIver acting like a thug,” Howell said. 

He was referring specifically to two members of Congress who drew media attention for what critics describe as political stunts related to immigration enforcement. That includes Padilla’s storming of a press conference featuring Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. The California lawmaker was arrested for interrupting the event and pushing back against the security officers protecting Noem. McIver was indicted in June on charges of assaulting and obstructing immigration officers outside a detention facility used by ICE in Newark, New Jersey.  

Howell expressed to The Daily Signal what he sees as the need for public officials to show zero tolerance toward political violence against federal law enforcement officials.

“Republicans need to pony up and stop treating this like a political disagreement or a messaging exercise. This is black and white. This is [the] rule of law. Illegal Immigration is illegal. Assaulting ICE is illegal,” he said. 

“I think the House would be well within its right to stand up a January 6-equivalent committee to really show the linkages between what national Democrat politicians are doing and how that’s impacting violence on the streets, the funding, etc,” said Howell, who has led several national security investigations while on Capitol Hill. 

Howell argued that the best policy to prevent future mass illegal migration to the United States is mass deportations. 

Howell contended that the best border security is “people coming home by the millions so that other people don’t try to make the trip.”