Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsmax on Tuesday that the 830% increase in assaults against DHS agents are "despicable" and the result of the left's "violent rhetoric against them."
"We're seeing AOC [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.], [Minnesota Gov.] Tim Walz, [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom, Mayor [Michelle] Wu out of Boston likening our law enforcement to the Nazis, to the modern-day gestapo," McLaughlin said on "The Chris Salcedo Show."
She went on to slam what she called the "lies" of the mainstream media regarding immigration enforcement operations, saying the dishonesty of the left-wing press is designed to "demonize and vilify our law enforcement."
"We've seen doxxing on our law enforcement," McLaughlin said. "There was actually a congressman from California on the ground of those ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] riots and he actually went forth to target one of our ICE employees, doxxing him and giving those rioters his contact information. [The agent] went on to actually be injured.
"It's just un-American. We should be thanking our brave law enforcement, our ICE and CBP [Customs and Border Protection] officers who are making America safer. Seventy percent of those illegal aliens who have been arrested under this administration have either prior convictions, criminal convictions, or pending criminal charges," she said.
The congressman who McLaughlin referenced, Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., allegedly revealed the identity of an ICE public affairs specialist to protesters at a California marijuana farm during a recent raid by displaying the individual's business card. According to DHS, the ICE specialist sustained serious injuries to his left hand that required stitches after being struck by a rock thrown by protesters. Images released by the agency show the agent's hand covered in blood both before and after medical treatment.
McLaughlin said that the raid at the California marijuana cultivation facility known as Glass House Farms was "one of the biggest operations in ICE history" that netted a number of criminal illegal aliens, as well as children who "were likely being exploited."
"Among those 361 illegal aliens, we found convicted kidnappers, convicted rapists, a convicted child molester, drug traffickers. One was making terrorist threats and was convicted for that — so truly, the worst of the worst.
"But it is so sad that among these illegal aliens were 14 children, 10 of which were unaccompanied, were not with any adults, and were likely being exploited — potential slave labor or forced labor — and potentially trafficked," she said.
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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