Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
According to ICE's own data, none of its officers have been killed by an immigrant in the agency's history.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/ice-deaths-assaults-administration-masks-covid19-shooting-dhs-trump/The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed that it needs to send the military into American cities because of the unique danger faced by federal agents enforcing immigration laws. In October, President Donald Trump claimed the National Guard was required in Illinois to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents facing a “coordinated assault by violent groups.” In September, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin argued Guardsmen should be deployed in Oregon as a result of “violent riots at ICE facilities” and “assaults on law enforcement.”
But those, and many similar assertions from the Trump administration, are undercut by ICE’s own data. A Mother Jones review shows that there is little evidence that ICE agents face such severe and widespread danger compared with other law enforcement agencies that they need military personnel to come to their aid or to break from centuries of public accountability by hiding behind masks.
The Trump administration has provided almost no information to back up its statements about rising assaults, which makes its claims hard to assess. But details about ICE officers who’ve died on the job are readily available on the agency’s website.
Those records show that none of ICE’s agents have ever been killed by an immigrant in the agency’s more than two-decade history. Instead, the leading cause of death by far among ICE officers is COVID-19. According to ICE’s data, the second leading cause of death is cancer linked to 9/11. (The pandemic and cancers connected to the September 11 terrorist attacks account for 75 percent of the deaths in ICE’s history.)
But those, and many similar assertions from the Trump administration, are undercut by ICE’s own data. A Mother Jones review shows that there is little evidence that ICE agents face such severe and widespread danger compared with other law enforcement agencies that they need military personnel to come to their aid or to break from centuries of public accountability by hiding behind masks.
The Trump administration has provided almost no information to back up its statements about rising assaults, which makes its claims hard to assess. But details about ICE officers who’ve died on the job are readily available on the agency’s website.
Those records show that none of ICE’s agents have ever been killed by an immigrant in the agency’s more than two-decade history. Instead, the leading cause of death by far among ICE officers is COVID-19. According to ICE’s data, the second leading cause of death is cancer linked to 9/11. (The pandemic and cancers connected to the September 11 terrorist attacks account for 75 percent of the deaths in ICE’s history.)