Democrats’ increasingly hostile political rhetoric toward federal immigration enforcement is directly contributing to violent attacks against law enforcement officers, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin warned on Newsmax.
McLaughlin condemned what she described as a campaign of “dehumanization and demonization” by anti-deportation politicians and activists, telling “Carl Higbie FRONTLINE” that it is emboldening extremists and putting agents’ lives at risk.
“It is really sickening what happened at that facility down in Dallas,” McLaughlin said, referring to a shooting at a Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility that left one detainee dead and two others severely injured. “This monster began indiscriminately shooting at our facility and the ICE vehicle itself.
“The dehumanization and the demonization has to stop, because we’re already seeing a 1,000% increase in assaults against them.”
McLaughlin cited recent remarks by California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, who introduced legislation she called unconstitutional and said likened federal law enforcement officers to “the Gestapo” and “slave patrols.”
She warned that such comparisons risk normalizing violence.
“What did Americans do to the Nazis in World War II? We fought them and we killed them,” she told host Carl Higbie.
“If you call law enforcement Nazis, you empower people to believe violence against them is justified.”
McLaughlin said DHS is responding to the escalating threats by expanding its workforce, recruiting more than 151,000 applicants to bolster security and ensure officers have adequate backup in the field.
“These are dangerous jobs, and because of these sanctuary politicians and media smears, they are becoming increasingly dangerous,” she said. “If you don’t like the law, change it — don’t demonize the men and women enforcing it.”
The assistant secretary urged the public to support and thank law enforcement officers, warning that the current climate is among the most dangerous she has seen.
“They just want to go home to their kids like everyone else,” McLaughlin said.
Newsmax writer Eric Mack contributed to this report.
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