Two illegal aliens used their cars as weapons against ICE officers in the Chicago area this week, ramming Operation Midway Blitz agents in two separate near-deadly incidents, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.
The DHS said Thursday night that the attacks were fueled by anti-ICE rhetoric from Illinois' top Democrat leaders.
Both incidents took place Tuesday during targeted enforcement operations.
Officials said the illegals deliberately weaponized their cars in an attempt to injure the officers.
The first attack occurred in Norridge, Illinois, when Miguel Escareno De Loera, an illegal from Mexico, struck an ICE vehicle twice before losing control, jumping a curb, and crashing into a stop sign.
He was taken into custody.
In Bensenville, Illinois, Widman Osberto Lopez-Funes, an illegal from Guatemala, rammed ICE officers with his vehicle and then ran into his home.
Agents later arrested him at the scene without further incident.
The DHS said the attacks could easily have turned deadly.
"Thankfully none of our law enforcement was killed because of these deranged criminals' attacks," said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
"This is exactly what happens when Governor Pritzker, Mayor Johnson, and other sanctuary politicians demonize ICE and encourage illegal aliens to resist law enforcement."
McLaughlin said assaults on ICE officers have skyrocketed by more than 1,000 percent, with vehicles increasingly used as weapons.
She vowed the DHS will pursue criminal charges against those who attack federal agents.
"[DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem has been clear: anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," McLaughlin said.
Both Escareno De Loera and Lopez-Funes will remain in federal custody pending removal proceedings.
The DHS said charges for assaulting law enforcement are being prepared.
Officials stressed that ICE officers face these risks daily as they work to remove violent illegal aliens from American communities.
"These back-to-back attacks underscore the dangers ICE law enforcement officers face every day as they remove criminal illegal aliens from American neighborhoods," DHS said in a statement.
"DHS will restore law and order and continue to protect American communities from criminal illegal aliens who choose violence."
These incidents are just two of several in recent weeks involving illegals attempting to ram ICE officers with vehicles.
In September, in Franklin Park, Illinois, ICE agents confronted Mexican national Silverio Villegas-González, who used his car to drag an officer during an enforcement operation, according to the DHS.
An ICE agent fatally shot him.
Weeks earlier, outside Colorado Springs, Colorado, ICE said two suspects tried to ram their car into agents during a raid in the Black Forest area. An officer fired three shots at the vehicle.
One suspect was arrested immediately, while the driver fled before eventually being taken into custody.
The DHS has also pointed to additional assaults connected to Operation Midway Blitz, saying that at least two more ICE officers were targeted with cars in recent weeks.
The department vows to prosecute anyone who attacks federal officers to the fullest extent of the law and that its mission of removing dangerous illegal aliens from U.S. communities will not be deterred.