https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-20-2025
"Individuals in plain clothes with their faces covered and without badges or
name tags are snatching people off the streets and taking them away. Todd
Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which
is housed within the Department of Homeland Security, claimed that such
measures for anonymity are imperative because “ICE officers have seen a
staggering 413 percent increase in assaults against them.”
Philip Bump of the
Washington Post looked into that claim and noted that by
using a percentage, ICE avoids the question of just how many assaults there
have actually been. He points out that year-to-date assaults against Customs
and Border Protection are currently 20% lower than they were in 2024 and that
at least one ICE news release blurred the distinction between “threatening to
assault” and “assaulting.” ICE would not provide evidence for their claims.
Bump concludes: “[W]e should not and cannot take ICE’s representations about
the need for its officers to obscure their identities at face value.” After
Bump’s article appeared yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security posted
on social media: “New data reveals that ICE law enforcement is now facing a
500% increase in assaults while carrying out enforcement operations.”
Bump noted that ICE “has been eager to level dubious charges against Democratic
legislators,” and the message from Homeland Security bears that claim out.
After claiming a 500% increase in assaults, it continued: “Make no mistake,
sanctuary politicians are contributing to the surge in assaults of our ICE
officers through their repeated vilification and demonization of ICE. This
violence against ICE must end.”
The Department of Homeland Security appears to be trying to convince Americans
that their agents must cover their faces because their opponents, especially
Democrats, are dangerous."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics