Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday that the Justice Department is deploying agents to Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities to protect federal personnel and property amid rising attacks and protests.
“At my direction, I am deploying DOJ agents to ICE facilities—and wherever ICE comes under siege—to safeguard federal agents, protect federal property, and immediately arrest all individuals engaged in any federal crime,” Bondi said in a post on X.
Bondi added that the DOJ’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces will investigate and disrupt “all entities and individuals engaged in acts of domestic terrorism, including repeated acts of violence and obstruction against federal agents.” She said the department will pursue the “most serious available charges against all participants in these criminal mobs.”
The deployment comes days after a shooting at a Dallas ICE field office left one detainee dead and two others critically injured. It is one of at least four attacks or threats targeting ICE and Border Patrol locations in Texas this year.
Federal agents have assisted ICE since the Trump administration ramped up immigration enforcement earlier this year. The recent surge in violence and protests prompted Bondi to expand the DOJ presence at ICE facilities nationwide.
The Trump administration has faced pushback from Democratic officials and activists. In May, Democratic lawmakers clashed with DHS officers at an ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey, with shoving and shouting escalating the confrontation. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested and detained for several hours.
Two months later, Rep. LaMonica McIver faced federal charges for allegedly interfering with immigration officers at the same facility. McIver has pleaded not guilty.
In July, federal agents used tear gas to disperse protesters outside a California farm during a standoff at an ICE facility. Last week, a Democratic mayor campaigning for Congress in Illinois was teargassed outside a suburban ICE facility during a demonstration.
The Trump administration previously mobilized National Guard troops to assist at ICE facilities this summer. Bondi’s announcement signals a continued escalation in federal enforcement and protection amid rising threats.
“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that federal agents can carry out their duties without threat, harassment, or obstruction,” Bondi said. “No one who attacks or interferes with our officers will go unpunished.”
DOJ agents will provide physical security and investigative support at ICE locations, ensuring rapid response to acts of violence or criminal activity. Officials emphasized the move is a direct response to recent attacks, including shootings, assaults, and organized protests.
The deployment highlights the Trump administration’s aggressive stance on immigration enforcement and protecting federal agents. Bondi warned that the DOJ will hold perpetrators fully accountable and pursue severe criminal penalties, signaling zero tolerance for attacks on federal personnel.
In the aftermath of Bondi’s announcement, multiple liberals took to social media to express their fierce opposition to the move.
“I guess those agents are also itching to push around preschoolers and pregnant cleaning ladies,” one user said.
“Lock her up!” another wrote.
