White House Alleges Over 1,000% Surge in Attacks on ICE Agents-But the Data Tells a Different Story

Since June, officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have reported a significant surge in assaults against their personnel, with the White House asserting in a September executive order that such attacks have escalated by over 1,000 percent.

However, while assaults on ICE officers have indeed risen, publicly available data does not support the federal government’s claim of such an extreme increase.

Reviewing court documents reveals approximately a 25 percent uptick in assault charges against federal officers through mid-September compared to the same timeframe last year.

It is undeniable that ICE agents have encountered increasingly hazardous situations nationwide, including violent incidents that could have resulted in fatalities.

The agency has vowed that anyone who assaults an ICE officer “will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” as emphasized in the executive order signed by President Trump.

Nevertheless, an investigation by Colorado Public Radio into federal court records over the past five years found no evidence supporting the dramatic rise in assaults claimed by the White House.

Despite multiple requests, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has declined to provide data substantiating their alarming statistics to CPR or NPR.

Looking back over five years, CPR News identified a gradual increase in assaults on federal officers, but nowhere near the magnitude suggested by federal officials.

ICE faces mounting pressure to locate and deport millions residing in the U.S. without legal authorization. As enforcement actions and protests have intensified, it is unsurprising that assault charges against federal agents have climbed by at least 25 percent this year, particularly amid heightened confrontations in cities like Los Angeles and Chicago. Since filing charges can take weeks, recent numbers may not yet capture all incidents.

Notable recent assaults on ICE personnel

This summer, fifteen individuals were charged following a July 4 plot in Alvarado, Texas, where ICE agents were allegedly lured from a detention center and fired upon, injuring a civilian police officer. Other reports include Customs and Border Protection officers being physically attacked during patrols, an ICE agent in California being dragged by a vehicle, and an agent in Omaha being forcefully thrown to the ground during an arrest, requiring hospitalization. Additionally, a sniper attack on a Texas ICE detention facility last month resulted in two detainee deaths, with officials suspecting immigration agents were the intended targets.

Despite these serious events, the total number of assaults remains far below the administration’s claim of a 1,000 percent increase within a few months.

Bob Pence, a former FBI agent with three decades of experience and author of the 2020 book “My Non-Political FBI: From Hoover to a Violent America,” warns that exaggerating assault statistics undermines public trust in law enforcement.

“When law enforcement inflates or distorts facts, it risks losing the public’s confidence, which is essential for effective cooperation and accurate reporting,” Pence explained.

Nationally, assault charges against federal officers across all agencies have only recently begun to rise.

CPR’s analysis shows a 74 percent increase in assault case filings against federal officers in the last quarter compared to the previous one, largely driven by confrontations in Los Angeles, where ICE has conducted extensive enforcement operations since June.

These events have sparked widespread protests in Los Angeles and other cities, fueling public skepticism about some federal claims.

For example, in August, a man in Washington, D.C., was charged with assaulting a Customs and Border Protection agent after throwing a ham sandwich at him. However, prosecutors failed to secure a grand jury indictment weeks later.

In Los Angeles, federal prosecutors sought felony charges against at least 38 individuals involved in protests and unrest near immigration raids. Yet, only seven indictments were obtained through citizen grand juries, with many charges dismissed, downgraded to misdemeanors, or resolved via plea agreements.

For the DHS and ICE’s claim of a 1,000 percent surge in assaults to hold true, thousands of assaults would have had to occur without resulting in criminal charges-contradicting the government’s assertion that all assaults on federal agents are prosecuted.

Requests for detailed data from the agency were denied, and DHS representatives refused to disclose the sources or methods behind their 1,000 percent figure announced in August.

They did provide links to press releases reiterating the claim but without any supporting explanation. Later, DHS shared press releases covering only a dozen assault cases on agents.

Even when video evidence clearly shows an assault-though often less severe than ICE suggests-convictions are not guaranteed.

Consider the case of Venezuelan national Abraham Gonzalez-Romero.

Initially, Colorado prosecutors charged him with attempted murder based mainly on his possession of a firearm at a shooting scene, despite weak evidence and questionable witness credibility due to their immigration status.

The local charges were eventually dropped.

On February 28, ICE agents awaited Gonzalez-Romero’s release from Denver County jail after being notified by the sheriff’s office. When agents approached him, he fled and was caught on jail video knocking an ICE officer to the ground. The altercation was minor and caused no injuries but quickly became a focal point in the national immigration debate.

One week later, House Republicans convened a panel with mayors from Denver, Chicago, and Boston to discuss sanctuary city policies.

Colorado Republican Rep. Jeff Crank recounted Gonzalez-Romero’s story, embellishing it beyond the ICE account.

“In Denver, police are required to release Tren de Aragua gang members uncuffed,” Crank asserted during the hearing, addressing Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. “Last week, this policy led to an illegal gang member assaulting and even biting an ICE agent. This endangers officers for political gain, and it’s unacceptable.”

However, federal prosecutors never presented evidence that Gonzalez-Romero bit or attempted to bite an agent, and his defense attorney denied the allegation. Public defender Kelly Christl also stated in court there was no proof linking him to the Tren de Aragua gang. Crank’s office did not respond to inquiries about the source of the biting claim.

Despite promises to prosecute all assaults on ICE agents fully, the government dropped the assault charge in a plea deal. Gonzalez-Romero was sentenced to time served on a gun charge but remains in ICE custody in Denver.

Insights from a former ICE official

Scott Mechkowski, ex-Deputy Field Office Director for ICE in New York City, noted that court records rarely capture the true frequency of assaults on immigration officers.

“Federal court proceedings don’t always reflect what we experience,” Mechkowski said. “We were often told that bites or punches were just part of the job and not always prosecuted.”

He added that only ICE maintains comprehensive records of assaults on its agents.

Other federal roles face greater risks, according to assault charges

While the federal data does not confirm the massive increases claimed by ICE and DHS, it does highlight that in Colorado, employees of the Bureau of Prisons and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have faced more assaults than ICE agents in recent years.

Between 2015 and mid-2025, the highest number of assaults on federal officers in Colorado occurred on tribal lands and within federal prisons.

Denver immigration attorney Christine Hernandez emphasized that when federal officials inflate statistics or agents misrepresent facts, it damages the credibility of law enforcement.

“This year, I’ve represented clients where judges demanded proof of alleged gang ties or other claims, and prosecutors couldn’t provide it,” Hernandez said. “This is unprecedented. Prosecutors are supposed to have evidence before filing charges, but that’s often missing.”