Here’s a better way for ICE to enforce the law without giving the left a PR win

The current violence perpetrated by far-left activists and encouraged by left-wing politicians against federal agents attempting to deport illegal aliens is unacceptable.

In June 2025, agents carrying out legal proceedings against illegal aliens in Los Angeles were arrested. was attacked. Mayor Karen Bass blamed federal enforcement for lawless protests in her city; But when dozens of businesses were looted, a curfew was ordered.

In September, ICE launched Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, arresting scores of criminal, illegal aliens without the support of Mayor Brandon Johnson or Illinois Governor JB Pritzker in the face of violent protests.

WHITE HOUSE BLAMES DEMOCRATS FOR ICE VIOLENCE AS MINNEAPOLIS EXPLODES, THREATENING RIOT LAW

Last October, a fight between Antifa and conservative activists occurred outside a Portland, Oregon ICE facility. In Portland, officers shot two alleged members of Venezuela’s deadly Tren de Aragua gang who tried to run them over.

We all know what happened between an ICE agent and murdered activist Renee Good in Minneapolis. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz responded with a mixture of lies and exaggeration. It ignored the fact that ICE agents are there to detain illegal immigrants (usually extremely dangerous repeat offenders) under U.S. law.

President Donald Trump has options.

Title 10 of the U.S. Code allows the U.S. to deploy federal troops in cases of “insurrection or danger of insurrection” against the U.S. government to protect federal agents and property.

IN MINNESOTA, DHS SAYS AFFAIRS STALK AND PELT BORDER PATROL AGENTS EAT AND SPIT AT GAS STATIONS

The Rebellion Act of 1807 allows him to send troops to “enforce the laws” of the United States or to “quell rebellion” when “unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblies, or rebellion” make it “impractical” to enforce federal law in a state.

Immigration enforcement is a federal mandate. The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution means that federal law overrides state law. No governor or mayor can refuse to allow federal agents to do their jobs, no matter how leftist their own policies.

Private citizens who obstruct federal agents (or local police) from doing their job are committing a felony. Non-citizens who do so risk not only facing criminal charges but also deportation upon conviction.

WHAT DOES TRUMP’S USE OF THE SEQUENCE LAW LOOK LIKE IN MINNESOTA?

The Trump administration must show that they will not be intimidated by gangs or threatened by flamboyant local politicians.

But when it comes to this point, DHS and ICE need to shift gears to avoid falling into the public relations trap set for them. It’s a triple threat for ICE to arrest dangerous criminals in tough neighborhoods in cities run by left-wing mayors.

First, agents need to worry about aliens who may be armed and dangerous. Second, they need to be wary of activist gangs that block vehicles, throw things, attack officers, and possibly worse. Third, they must travel extensively, knowing that local police are forbidden, unwilling, or unable to protect them or come to their aid.

BLOCKED COOPERATION ON ICE CAUSED UNREST IN MINNESOTA, OFFICIALS WARNED VIRGINIA TO REVERSE DRIVE

This means that every operation is expensive, labor-intensive and high-risk. Everything is filmed from every angle. Every officer’s every move is scrutinized by millions of armchair social justice warriors who are now suddenly experts in forensics and tactics.

Trump’s base will support tough tactics, while the left will oppose any sanctions. Moderate and undecided voters will be put off by the inevitable injuries and deaths. If they watch or read old media, events will always be manipulated in a way that makes law enforcement look bad, no matter what the facts are.

So what might ICE do differently in 2026?

GREGG JARRETT: TRUMP HAS AUTHORITY TO SEND TROOPS TO MINNEAPOLIS TO STOP ATTACKS ON THE ICE

More workplace inspections and targeted arrests at unpredictable places and times.

To help them, technology has advanced significantly since Trump’s first term, and artificial intelligence is a force multiplier for routine investigations. According to Politico, ICE spends “more than $300 million on social media monitoring tools, facial recognition software, license plate readers and services to find where people live and work.”

In using identification and surveillance technology, DHS faces opposition not only from open border activists but also from privacy-concerned conservatives. But it’s a fight worth having.

CLICK FOR OTHER OPINIONS OF FOX NEWS

Facial recognition and social media scanning technology can be set to tag only noncitizens in the DHS database.

ICE is also investing millions in “skip tracking” technology that can more easily detect illegal aliens while leaving American citizens alone.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

US consulates abroad are using artificial intelligence to scan visa applicants’ social media, and USCIS has announced a “new review center” [that] ICE must have access to all of this information, as well as other federal agencies such as the Social Security Administration and Health and Human Services. Citizens’ data is protected by privacy laws, but non-citizens, especially those who are here illegally, have no right to expect one part of the government to withhold information from another.

Trump needs to “grow up” to show the likes of Walz and Frey how the Constitution works. So DHS must handle mass deportations more carefully and tactfully in the long run. Americans need to see law enforcement normalized once again.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM SIMON HANKINSON