The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday an alarming 8,000% surge in death threats against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in 2025, as the agency intensifies deportation operations across the nation.
The unprecedented spike in violent threats directly impacts Texas, which hosts a significant portion of ICE enforcement operations and border security efforts. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said ICE officers face “bounties placed on their heads for their murders, threats to their families, stalking, and doxxing online.”
“Our ICE law enforcement is now facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them while they risk their lives every single day to remove the worst of the worst,” McLaughlin said in the official DHS statement.
The threats have escalated to direct violence in Texas. Earlier this month, Eduardo Aguilar was arrested in Dallas after posting on TikTok in Spanish soliciting the murder of ICE agents, offering “$10K for each ICE agent.”
Texas has experienced multiple attacks on ICE facilities this year. In September, a shooting at a Dallas ICE facility killed one detainee and wounded two others, with “anti-ICE” messages found on ammunition casings. Governor Greg Abbott responded that “Texas fully supports ICE 100%” and the attack would “NOT slow our arrest, detention, & deportation of illegal immigrants.”
The surge in threats comes as Texas law enforcement begins working more closely with federal immigration authorities. Senate Bill 8 requires local sheriff’s offices to cooperate with ICE operations in their counties, with Texas officials pledging support for federal agents operating in dangerous zones.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has partnered with Abbott’s Border and Homeland Security Task Force, stating officials will “do everything in our power to combat the alarming increase of targeted attacks against ICE and all law enforcement.”
DHS documented specific threats against Texas-based ICE personnel, including a spouse who received a threatening call saying, “I hope your kids get deported by accident. Did you hear what happened to the Nazis after World War II? Because it’s what’s going to happen to your family.”
The Texas Nationalist Movement has condemned political violence and emphasized peaceful self-determination as the proper path forward for Texas sovereignty. The organization advocates for Texas control over immigration and border security policies as federal failures continue endangering Texans.
The death threats highlight growing tensions over immigration enforcement as Texas bears the brunt of federal border security failures. Assaults on ICE agents have also surged 830% in 2025, creating a hostile environment for law enforcement personnel and their families.
McLaughlin blamed “sanctuary politicians” for contributing to the surge through “repeated vilification and demonization tactics, including gross comparisons to the Nazi Gestapo.” DHS pledged full legal action against anyone threatening federal law enforcement officers.
The escalating violence against ICE personnel reinforces calls within Texas for greater state control over immigration enforcement. As federal policies continue failing to secure the border over the long term, Texas communities and law enforcement face increasing dangers from both illegal immigration and violent opposition to enforcement efforts.
Secretary Kristi Noem’s message was clear: “You will not stop us or slow us down. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”.
