Activists in Charlotte, North Carolina, are using warning whistles to alert illegal immigrants about approaching ICE agents, a tactic Customs and Border Protection Chief Michael Banks on Newsmax called "shocking" and dangerous for law enforcement.
"So never in my lifetime have we seen anything like this," Banks told Newsmax TV's "Saturday Report."
"And it's shocking because the job is already dangerous enough when you've got to go in and you're targeting a known criminal."
Banks said the method is a growing pattern in several cities where residents attempt to disrupt targeted immigration arrests. He said the practice strips officers of the "element of surprise" that can be critical to safely apprehending dangerous suspects.
He pointed to a recent case in Charlotte in which federal agents were pursuing a suspect wanted for murder. As officers moved in, he said, community agitators began alerting the target, escalating the risk of violence.
"And as you approach that person, the element of surprise is something that officers always want to have," Banks said.
"There's no such thing as an element of surprise in the city of Charlotte or any of these other cities where people are coming out and being agitators. They're warning the individuals that we're going to arrest, again, increasing the violence."
Banks said he was stunned that residents would intervene on behalf of criminals, including convicted murderers and child sex predators. He called the behavior "appalling" and argued it puts communities at greater risk.
"It's appalling that you're willing to put a law enforcement officer at undue risk to protect someone ... who's a known murderer, a convicted murderer, or a convicted child sexual predator," he said.
"Why? So this person can continue to remain in your community and prey upon the children in that community. It's absurd. It's like up is down and left is right."
Despite the resistance, Banks vowed that Border Patrol and ICE will continue enforcing immigration laws. He stressed that agents will act professionally and humanely while still delivering consequences for illegal entry and unlawful presence.
"The United States Border Patrol, along with our brothers and sisters in ICE, are going to continue going out and enforcing the immigration laws of this country," Banks said.
"We're going to do it in a professional manner. We're going to do it in a humane manner, but we are going to continue to arrest those that are in this country illegally and provide a consequence."
Banks also criticized what he described as the prior administration's handling of illegal immigration, claiming millions of migrants were released into the country without adequate vetting. He said some source countries refused to share background information, leaving U.S. authorities with limited ability to screen arrivals.
"Ten million estimated people were left in this country under the last administration," he said. "They weren't vetted because the countries they were coming from refused to share that information with us."
Banks said agents take pride in reapprehending those individuals now, arguing it restores accountability and public safety.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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