Violent attacks on ICE surge as Democrat labels agency ‘terrorist force’

The past few weeks have seen several violent attacks targeting ICE and law enforcement. On June 7, in Los Angeles, left-wing agitators clashed with federal law enforcement and state and local police during anti-ICE protests.  

A day later, in San Francisco, people were injured and an ICE field office was damaged. On Independence Day in Alvarado, Texas, a group set an ambush at the Prairieland Detention Center, wounding a police officer.  

In the aftermath, 10 people were charged with attempted murder. Literature found on the scene implored “FIGHT ICE TERROR WITH CLASS WAR” and “RESIST FASCISM – FIGHT OLIGARCHY.”  

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Then, three days later, in McAllen, Texas, Ryan Louis Mosqueda ambushed Border Patrol agents, resulting in his death and injuries to law enforcement. 

Days before this string of death, destruction and violence was unleashed, Washington Democrat Rep. Pramila Jayapal appeared intent to do the unleashing, referring to ICE as “a terrorist force” on June 2. 

On Friday, June 27, all but seven congressional Democrats voted against a resolution condemning anti-ICE violence as ICE officials reported a 700% surge in violence directed at federal immigration enforcement officers.  

ICE AGENTS TARGETED IN 2 AMBUSH ATTACKS IN RECENT DAYS

Looking at history provides clues as to where this escalation in violence may lead.

When it’s healthy, America’s two-party, winner-take-all system rewards incrementalism: Winning by a little often bestows the same amount of power as winning by a lot, while losing yields nothing. This isn’t the case in parliamentary systems with proportional representation, a system that tends to breed factionalism and often extremism.  

As a result, Republicans and Democrats tend to gradually shift issues and coalitions over time as they seek electoral advantage. But as these shifts occur, individuals and groups with extreme views can become frustrated. This can build into anger and anger into violence, especially when encouraged by politicians and the prominent.  

The early 20th Century in America was marked by significant left-wing or anarchist violence. President William McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist on September 6, 1901. Then, from 1919 to 1920, a series of mail bombs targeted government officials and businessmen, culminating in the September 16, 1920, Wall Street bombing which killed 30 people that day and injured hundreds, with another 10 succumbing to wounds later.  

MULTIPLE ARRESTED AS ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS CLASH WITH POLICE, US TROOPS IN LOS ANGELES

The 1960s and ’70s saw a resurgence of left-wing violence. Back then, groups like the Weather Underground and Symbionese Liberation Army, using popular opposition to the Vietnam War and frustrations over the pace of civil rights progress, attempted to trigger a revolution as they carried out bombings and robberies. According to Time magazine, these hit 2,500 bombings over an 18-month period from 1971 to 1972 alone — helping to trigger Richard Nixon’s reelection landslide with 60.7% of the vote on the way to winning 49 states. Nixon campaigned on law-and-order.     

Recent anarchist and left-wing violence has been largely directed against property — an obvious manifestation of the hated capitalist system — and against their extremist right-wing counterparts. This is especially true in cities where local law enforcement seemed wholly uninterested in shutting down the riots and arson.  

Ten suspects were charged with attempted murder of a federal officer in connection to the July 4, 2025, ambush attack on the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas.  (Johnson County Sheriff’s Office)

Thus, the long, simmering summer of 2020, with Antifa, BLM, and the George Floyd riots occurring over COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, saw up to 16,000 people arrested, $1-2 billion in property damage, at least 25 deaths, and some 62,000 National Guard personnel called up in more than 30 states.  

Yet, as bad as 2020 was, the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, more an orgy of anger and opportunistic looting than anything ideological, caused as much inflation-adjusted property damage as the 2020 riots, with more than 1,100 buildings destroyed or damaged, up to 63 deaths and 2,300 injured, with some 12,000 people arrested. And that was just in LA. 

COAST-TO-COAST ANTI-ICE CHAOS CAUGHT ON CAMERA

But the recent spate of violence against ICE and other law enforcement officials could be entering a dangerous new phase. The July 4 ambush in Alvarado, Texas, is particularly worrisome. A group of 10 men and women allegedly used fireworks to draw out agents, after vandalizing vehicles with graffiti like “ICE pig” and “traitor.” They reportedly ended up firing up to 30 rounds, one of which injured an Alvarado police officer in the neck. 

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The suspected domestic terrorists were found with 12 sets of body armor and loaded magazines. Were it not for a jammed AR-style rifle found discarded in the woods, the casualties among law enforcement might have been far worse.  

In the aftermath, 10 people were charged with attempted murder. Literature found on the scene implored “FIGHT ICE TERROR WITH CLASS WAR” and “RESIST FASCISM – FIGHT OLIGARCHY.”  

Although it was eclipsed by the Texas ambush, the ICE field office in Portland, Oregon, was attacked the same day, with several people damaging the building, attempting to cut its communications links, attacking officers and hurtling incendiary devices at federal law enforcement.  

Radicalization, coupled with the ease of organizing through social media and the tacit and often explicit approval of high-profile Democrats, will likely result in an increased tempo of violence directed against law enforcement. After all, if ICE is a “modern-day Gestapo” as Democratic Minnesota governor and 2024 vice presidential nominee Tim Walz claimed in May, than any measure to attack it is both moral and necessary. 

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But what is the endgame? Do the perpetrators really think that violence directed against law enforcement will cause a cessation of enforcement of the law? Do the left-wing agitators believe that their rage against the machine will result in electoral victory?  

History suggests their actions will lead inexorably to a law-and-order landslide in 2028.  

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