(The Center Square) – Assaults against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are up 1,153% in 11 months, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
As ICE officers continue to arrest the most violent criminals nationwide, U.S. citizens have increasingly obstructed their efforts, including physically attacking them and threatening to kill them, according to multiple reports nationwide. The most recent death-threat-related arrests were of a Virginia high school assistant principal and his brother.
Earlier this month, DHS and the Virginia Beach Police Department launched an investigation into brothers John Wilson Bennett and Mark Booth Bennett, after an off-duty Norfolk Virginia, Police Department officer overheard them discussing plans to “kill police officers and ICE agents,” DHS said.
The brothers are U.S. citizens and Virginia residents.
The officer claims he overheard Mark Bennett tell his brother that he was “planning to meet with like-minded individuals in Las Vegas to purchase firearms with explosive rounds to carry out the attacks,” DHS said.
He was arrested at the Norfolk International Airport, where he was booked on a flight and scheduled to depart for Las Vegas, DHS said. His brother, John Bennett, was arrested in Virginia Beach on the same day. John Bennett is the assistant principal of Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach. He is still employed by the school; his photo and contact information are still on the school website. He is reportedly on leave, according to local news reports.
Both were charged with a state crime of one count of conspiracy to commit malicious wounding.
“It’s chilling that a human being, much less a child educator, would plot to ambush and kill ICE law enforcement officers – offering such specifics as to getting a high-caliber rifle that would pierce the law enforcements’ bulletproof vests. Thanks to Homeland Security Investigations and our partners, these men are behind bars,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
They weren’t behind bars for long and were released on a $25,000 bond, with GPS monitoring. They claimed they were “joking around” and the Las Vegas trip was preplanned to attend an F1 race, WAVY 10 News reported. Their next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23.
Law enforcement took the claims seriously, as assaults against ICE officers up now by 1,153% in just 11 months.
From Jan. 21 through Nov. 21, 2025, 238 assaults were reported against ICE officers, up from 19 reported during the same time period last year, DHS said.
That’s an increase of 1,153%.
At the same time, the number of death threats made against ICE officers has increased by 8,000%, The Center Square reported.
ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol officers have also experienced a surge of targeted vehicular attacks. Vehicular attacks against CBP and Border Patrol agents are up 58%; attacks against ICE officers are up by 1,300%, The Center Square reported.
DHS blames Democrats for increased violence and threats of violence.
“After months of Democrat politicians comparing ICE to Nazis, the Gestapo, slave patrols, and even encouraging illegal aliens to resist arrest, our brave ICE law enforcement have been assaulted 238 times,” McLaughlin said. “Our law enforcement officers have had Molotov cocktails and rocks thrown at them, been shot at, had cars used as weapons against them, and been physically assaulted. Sanctuary politicians need to tone the rhetoric down before a law enforcement officer is killed. They should be thanking these brave law enforcement officers who risk their lives every single day to arrest pedophiles, rapists, murderers, gang members, and terrorists from our neighborhoods.”
Examples of assaults include hitting, spitting, kicking, biting, attempted strangulation, drive-by shootings, and cartel bounties, The Center Square reported.
Despite these threats, ICE officers are prioritizing arresting violent criminals, including those with removal orders from federal immigration judges. The overwhelming majority being arrested, 70%, have criminal convictions or pending charges, ICE says. The 70% figure excludes those wanted for violent crimes in other countries, including those with INTERPOL notices and human rights violators, among others, ICE says.
Bethany Blankley is a contributor to The Center Square.
Reprinted with permission from The Center Square by Bethany Blankley.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
This is way beyond protesting.
This is even way beyond rioting.
This is attempted murder plain and simple.
The only way to stop this level of criminal behavior is to go full kinetic.
It is bad enough that a criminal president and his cronies opened the borders that allowed criminals into the nation. It is a shame that all law enforcement officers now have to watch their backs because of the evil thoughts of those they are serving to protect, now want to cause them harm. Unfortunately, there are not enough jails/prisons to hold such sick minded people. Will vigilantes arise in the nation? I hope not but if the nation continues on this evil road, it may come to that.
Since when is there a distinction when it comes to law enforcement? ICE is treated like neighborhood watch instead of what they’re tasked to do. ICE agents should never be denigrated because the left says so. So my question is why doesn’t all branches of law enforcement get treated like ICE? I’ll answer that: because they don’t enforce immigration laws.
Why is that not a federal crime? If I assault a police officer in the city I live in I will be in jail. Democrat support assaulting law enforcement I guess that’s probably the reason. Anyone that assaults and ice agent needs to go to the federal prison for hard Time
If you assault the police officer in the state of Idaho, if the cop doesn’t kill you one of the onlookers will. We are mostly all armed and we know how to use them
The vermin of criminals roaming this country is beyond everything a thinking person would allow. But here these progressives with the help of prominent Democrats are waging a war against the citizens of this country. They have paid for protesters doing the Gestapo tactics they accuse president Trump off. The ICE and border patrol agents, AFT, DEA all are doing is fighting lawlessness. Their lives are in peril every day. Since the democrats have dismissed the police as Gestapo agents. Now these paid for protesters are doing the law and order for them by protecting the illegals and killing the citizens. They don’t see any humanity in these brave men and women who keep us safe from these murderers, rapists, they love them. They hate everyone else. They are the Marxists who think they are better than anyone else. They will kill you as easy as opposing gang members kill one another. There is no humanity on the left. They created the problem and are supporting it 100%. All because they want the power over this country and its migrant population. The American citizens are expendable. And they work at it day in and day out to accomplish that goal.
I hate this! ICE is a or should be a respected member of the law enforcement community PERIOD!! Get the illegals out! Except, I did see an article in the local paper of an illegal who was arrested for being here illegally, married, started a company and was a model citizen for 20 years. Didn’t depend on the state for anything. I liked that the judge let him off and gave him a pathway to be a naturalized citizen. That’s not the way to do it though.
Many just want to come here and get on welfare and that is abhorrent to the “Nth” degree. In Mexico, one works or they starve. It’s that way in other countries too.
Apply the right way to get in. Congress can diddle with the process and I’m O.K. with that.
It’s time to put a stop the attack and assaults on our law enforcement!! The individuals that do this should be deported immediately or shot for disruption of our law enforcement agencies!!
Someone was already killed. Say her name. Sarah. And the other young man shot is fighting for his life.
Fortify ALL ICE Centers
armor up all ICE
Beef up armored trucks
Lock & Load
Merge facilities to save $$
Make no mistake about it the drats hate what the USA stands for as you don’t have wonder if it’s true just listen to what they say. It’s about time the people who makes these threats are arrested and put in jail. Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing but there are limits.
“Assaults on ICE agents up by 1153%”
Counter assaults by ICE agents should also be up by 1153%.
Assaults and attacks on ICE are being encouraged and endorsed by politicians who are supposed to uphold the law, should they be required to pay for the upkeep from their own pocket I don’t think they’d be so eager . They are good at talking when it comes to doing not so hot .
there are 2 major problems in this country.
illegal aliens {ALL}.
enforcement of laws {ALL}.
Just another example of how all the violent protests and assaults are coming from the right (with sarcasm please).
I agree. It’s time to respond to this violence with extreme prejudice.That is the only way to stop all this!
American citizens like this should be ashamed of themselves. Dems have planted the seeds for this over and over, with the help of the MSM, so what did we expect? They scream about “due process” for illegal aliens so we really need to “due process” these American citizens into bankruptcy or prison. I keep saying, examples need to be made.
Assault on fed officers, minimum year in prison , no parole!
Any true AMERICAN citizen that obstructs the deportation of these illegals should get their dodo together and support the deportation of these criminals.If they are here illegally,they are criminals.I do feel for some,but do the bad outweigh the good.
The punishments for impeding the deportation process in any way and assaults on Officers of the Law of any kind, will have to be increased to a level that will be severe enough to get them to stop. I mean punishment so that it hurts. That would mean prison time, not jail time. It could also include forfeiture of all possessions of real value, i.e. Homes, vehicles, pensions and sometimes it might require both. I retired from the prison system. Thick sculls like these Progressive Socialists don’t learn from their mistakes, they only get it when you hit them hard enough to hurt. They have one leg on the human side and the other on the animal side. They’re straddlers. I believe President Trump understands this and the benefits of nipping bad behavior in the bud.
If ANY more of America’s ENEMIES WITHIN violently assult ICE, DHS, NG, or ANY OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL, in ANY WAY, whether with rocks, fire bombs, points a gun at them, charges at them with a knife, hatchet or any other weapon, or uses a vehicle to ram or tries to ram them, or their vehicles, THEY SHOULD IMMEDIATELY SHOOT TO KILL, AND DON’T MISS!!!!
So much of this is generated by reports by some not main stream, but pod casters who say that ICE is to rough, arrest citizens without checking to see who they are are arresting Ambassadors and ending them to other countries to jails. Hard to defend against half truths and lies.
ICE agents should be armed and allowed to protect themselves. This is the USA and we must not suffer Anarchy!
People being charged for assaulting Border Patrol or ICE Agents should be up by at least as much.
This is a two way street. ICE is getting a bad reputation for things like the Hyundi plant in Georgia and the arrest of an Native American in the Southwest. Do your homework and do not make so many mistakes & quit beating up on people.