Political rhetoric portraying the ICE as a “Gestapo” is fueling threats and violence against officers, such as in Wednesday’s shootings at an agency facility in Dallas, but that won’t deter the agents’ mission, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director Madison Sheahan said on Newsmax Thursday.
“The job of the men and women of ICE is to enforce immigration law as it’s written. Our job is not to pick winners and losers,” Sheahan told Newsmax’s “National Report.” “If these lawmakers want to criticize ICE for their work, they should consider changing the law, which they fully have the power to do.”
Still, Sheahan said officers face an “increased threat posture” as critics label them as Nazis and fascists.
“We continue to see rhetoric making them villainized to others, calling them Nazis, Gestapo, and other dangerous rhetoric which increases this threat against our officers by almost 1,000%,” she said. “These attacks won’t deter us from doing our job and protecting the American people.”
She added that officers are clearly identified during operations and undergo extensive training.
“The men and women of ICE have clear placards on their body armor,” said Sheahan. “They wear their badges. That standard is set very high with the scrutiny as well as the training that every ICE officer goes through.”
Sheahan also defended officers who wear masks during operations, after California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the practice, as they conceal their identities because of the risk of doxxing and harassment.
“Our officers wouldn’t wear masks if they weren’t being doxed and their families were at risk,” she said. “We’ve seen protesters show up at agents’ houses. We’ve seen agents get hurt horrifically in different situations. This is all because of the dangerous rhetoric that we’re seeing from the Democrat Party right now.”
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