The woman allegedly made the purchase attempt on two separate occasions in Kenmore, New York. The issue is being investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the New York State Police, and Homeland Security Investigations. More information regarding the suspect, including whether she was in custody, was not provided by DHS.
Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, said immigration officers were now facing more assaults, vehicle-ramming attacks, and attempts to kill them.
“Now, we have an American citizen purchasing a gun with the intent to KILL our officers,” she said.
“Comparing ICE day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols has consequences.
“The men and women of ICE and [Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)] are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, they just want to go home to their families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop.
“DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s message is clear: you will not stop or slow us down. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law.”
The department said that people who lay hands on a law enforcement officer would be prosecuted to the “fullest extent of the law.”
DHS blamed “radical rhetoric” from sanctuary politicians for a 1,300 percent jump in assaults against ICE officers and a 3,200 percent surge in vehicular attacks.
Immigration officers and agencies have faced criticism from multiple Democratic politicians.
Walz criticized immigration agents for the shooting and killing of two people in Minnesota, and accused them of attacking “countless” protesters and bystanders.
The second death took place on Jan. 24 when Alex Pretti, 37, was shot by a federal officer in Minneapolis. Pretti had allegedly approached Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun while they were attempting to arrest an illegal immigrant wanted for assault. Pretti was shot during a struggle to disarm him.
The governor alleged that masked agents have abducted children, separated children from parents, aggressively pulled people over and demanded to see their papers, broken into the homes of elderly people without warrants, and racially profiled off-duty police officers.
Attacks on Immigration Officers
In a Jan. 26 statement, DHS said ICE officers were facing an 8,000 percent jump in death threats against them and their families.The agency posted the transcript of a threatening voicemail received by an ICE officer, in which a person calls the officer a “fascist” and a traitor to the American people, while wishing for his death as well as that of his wife and parents.
Despite facing a surge in violence, ICE officers “risk their lives every single day to remove murderers, pedophiles, rapists, terrorists, and gang members from American neighborhoods,” McLaughlin said.
The administration is taking action against people attacking immigration personnel.
The perpetrator attacked multiple officials, hitting, biting, and head-butting them, according to ICE.
“He overstayed a nonimmigrant visa by more than four years, and he’s been sentenced to a crime that falls under the Laken Riley Act,” ICE Boston acting Field Office Director Dave Wesling said.
“When we initially arrested him, he attacked our officers and a DEA agent—and under this administration, there is zero tolerance for those who violently assault the brave men and women of ICE Boston who are on the ground fighting to keep our communities safe.”
