Attorney General Pam Bondi slammed top democrats for “putting ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs.”
Amid ongoing controversy over immigration enforcement throughout President Donald Trump’s second term, top Democrats are launching unprecedented efforts to scrutinize U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
This week, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), backed by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, unveiled plans to launch a “master ICE tracker. The public tool is intended to log and broadcast ICE activity nationwide in order to help illegal immigrants avoid detainment and intimidate officers themselves.
Simultaneously, New York Attorney General Letitia James opened a tip line for citizens to submit videos and complaints about ICE operations following a recent enforcement crackdown in Manhattan’s Chinatown.
Garcia and James say their efforts are meant to shine a light on what they characterize as civil rights violations by ICE officers. “American citizens are being dragged off the streets by masked men,” Garcia claimed at a press conference Monday.
Republicans swiftly condemned the ICE-tracking initiatives, warning they could endanger federal agents and obstruct lawful operations intended to keep Americans safe.
“This sure looks like obstruction of justice,” said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. She noted that assaults against ICE officers have skyrocketed by over 1,000% in recent years, saying, “If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), who chairs the House Administration Committee, vowed that Garcia’s tracker tool will not be allowed on official congressional servers. “The House of Representatives absolutely will not maintain a website that tracks or doxes ICE agents,” Steil said.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi echoed those concerns, slamming Democrats’ efforts on social media.
“Shutdown Democrats are already refusing to pay our law enforcement agents,” Bondi wrote, calling out Garcia and Blumenthal for “putting ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs.”
The controversy deepened after Apple pulled ICE-tracking apps like ICEBlock from its App Store at the behest of the Justice Department. The apps had allowed users to alert others when ICE agents were nearby and had more than a million users before their removal.
Apple cited “safety risks” and violations of App Store policy; ICE officials said the app could help incite violence. FBI Director Kash Patel linked one recent shooting at a Dallas ICE office to an individual who had searched for such apps. Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have encouraged such tactics, however, telling followers, “When you see them, blow the whistle.”
Letitia James, facing her own legal troubles after being indicted for falsifying a mortgage application, insists the public has a right to document ICE activity.
“No one should be subject to unlawful questioning, detention, or intimidation,” she stated.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s administration continues to roll out stricter immigration measures, including a new $1,000 fee for migrants entering under parole. The Department of Homeland Security says the fee will help curb widespread abuse of the parole system and fund enforcement operations.
“The Biden Administration abused America’s immigration system and turned parole into a de facto amnesty program, thereby allowing millions of unvetted illegal aliens into the U.S., no questions asked, to the detriment of all Americans,” McLaughlin said.
