Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told Newsmax that international drug cartels are "increasingly desperate."
McLaughlin told "National Report" on Tuesday that direct attacks against border security agents and law enforcement officers are increasing.
"We are noticing that these cartels are getting increasingly desperate," she said. "We've seen assaults on our law enforcement officers and ICE enforcement officers up 300%. And that is a direct correlation of the desperation."
McLaughlin said the coordinated response by the United States to border security is an "all hands on deck" approach.
"So we are working, not just DHS, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection, but we're also working with the Pentagon. Secretary [Pete} Hegseth has been phenomenal on these efforts.
"And we are going to use every tool in our arsenal to thwart these bad actors and keep them out of our country and Americans safe."
She said the effect on illegal border crossings is something Americans can be proud of.
"So we've seen huge success at the border," she said. "And we're going to continue to get our arrest numbers up within the interior of our country. This is something that the American people can be celebrating 100 days into this administration.
"Thank you to President [Donald] Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem."
McLaughlin stressed that the border enforcement efforts are targeting criminal aliens.
"We've arrested over 1,000 terrorists, including these Tren de Aragua members, these MS-13 gang members who were in our country unvetted and with impunity throughout this country for the last four years," she said.
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