Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has accused progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal of hypocrisy after she labeled ICE as a ‘terrorist force,’ citing an earlier incident where she shifted blame from an actual terrorist attack. Lyons pointed out that Jayapal previously tried to blame right-wing rhetoric for an Antifa terrorist’s attempt to bomb an ICE facility in Washington, instead of addressing the real threat. Jayapal has defended her comments, claiming ICE agents are kidnapping people, while Lyons criticized her for prioritizing violent criminals over law enforcement.
During an interview with Brianna Keilar on ‘CNN News Central,’ Jayapal doubled down on her statement, saying, ‘What is deranged and cruel and outrageous is that, literally, we are seeing ICE agents, I assume they’re ICE agents. They say they are. They don’t have any identification. They’re wearing masks. They’re in plain clothes. They are coming and kidnapping and disappearing people on the streets of the United States.’ Jayapal asserted that the federal operations are being carried out with ‘no oversight, no accountability’ and are ‘completely lawless.’
In response, Lyons said after ‘an actual Antifa terrorist tried to blow up ICE’s Northwest Processing Center in Rep. Jayap, D-Wash., home state of Washington in 2019,’ she ‘tried to blame the violent attack on rhetoric from the right, in defense of an actual terrorist who tried to murder detainees and employees alike!’
‘Now, she labels ICE officers enforcing immigration law set by Congress ‘terrorists,’’ said Lyons. ‘This, at a time when officers are facing a nearly 700% increase in assaults, is in part due to the type of rhetoric she spews.’
‘Never in a million years did I think I would witness a sitting member of Congress prioritize regard for violent criminals over the law enforcement officers protecting her community from actual public safety threats,’ he said. ‘The only apology needed is from the congresswoman to the people who voted for her.’
The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News earlier this week that assaults against ICE officers and federal agents conducting immigration enforcement are up 690% compared to the same time last year. In an interview with Fox News Digital, a special agent working deportations voiced concern about the escalating violence and the effect of Democrats pushing policies to de-mask officials, which they said threatens their families and communities.
‘Whatever happens to us, my family,’ Democratic leadership is ‘directly responsible for it,’ said the agent.