Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delivered a blunt warning on national television this weekend: criminal cartels, violent gangs, and extremist groups are using protests at the Portland ICE facility as cover to target federal agents and even their families. This is not idle rhetoric — DHS has itself documented coordinated doxxing campaigns and a spike in assaults on ICE personnel that put men and women who enforce our laws in real danger.
The department’s memo paints a chilling picture: names, addresses, and photographs of officers and their children posted online, flyers left on front lawns, and explicit death threats that invite ruthless gangs to exploit that information. Secretary Noem is right to call for criminal prosecutions and to refuse to pretend this is merely “protesting”; it is targeted harassment designed to intimidate patriotic public servants.
Portland’s steady drumbeat of violence around the ICE building has gone far beyond peaceful dissent, with reports of rammed doors, thrown projectiles, and the use of fireworks and flares against officers who are only trying to do their jobs. Local officials’ statements trying to paper over the chaos are a disgrace to residents who want safe streets and the simple rule of law. The city’s own press releases show officials scrambling to manage recurring disturbances while federal personnel remain vulnerable.
This is not just a Portland problem. Federal law enforcement has flagged similar patterns in multiple cities where small violent actors hide inside large demonstrations to commit crimes and attack ICE property and personnel. The FBI and DHS warnings about domestic violent extremists exploiting lawful protests underscore the national scope of the threat and the urgent need for a coordinated federal response.
Democrat officeholders and sanctuary city policies that impede cooperation with federal agencies bear responsibility for creating permissive environments where extremists feel emboldened. It is both cowardly and politically convenient to cast federal agents as villains while refusing to secure neighborhoods or prosecute those who incite violence. Secretary Noem’s refusal to look the other way is the kind of leadership Americans deserve when the safety of law-abiding citizens and law enforcement is at stake.
The remedy is straightforward: aggressively prosecute doxxers and violent actors, restore full cooperation between local and federal law enforcement, and equip ICE and Border Patrol with the legal backing and resources to protect themselves and the communities they serve. Any court orders or political theater that tie the hands of federal authorities must be challenged, because allowing street mobs to terrorize officers is a fast track to anarchy.
Hardworking Americans should stand with the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to uphold immigration law and secure our borders. We must reject the moral equivalence offered by the left and demand accountability from officials who enable lawlessness. If Washington has any backbone left, it will back Secretary Noem’s fight to defend federal agents and restore order to our streets.
