Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem condemned Democratic leaders Monday after a weekend of violent anti-ICE protests in Portland, Ore., and Chicago, Ill., accusing them of “giving air cover” to criminals and obstructing law enforcement operations.
“Let’s remember that the mayor has a less than 6% approval rating in Chicago,” Noem said, referring to Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson. “He’s giving them air cover so they can go out and keep committing crimes. His city is a war zone, and he’s lying so that criminals can destroy people’s lives.”
Noem’s remarks came after federal agents faced coordinated vehicle attacks in both cities, including an ambush Saturday morning in Chicago in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officers were rammed and surrounded by multiple vehicles. The Department of Homeland Security said two suspects, Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, were arrested. Martinez, who was armed with a semi-automatic weapon and had previously doxxed federal agents, was shot and later taken into FBI custody.
Despite growing unrest, agents continued enforcement operations under Operation Midway Blitz, a federal initiative targeting violent criminal aliens in sanctuary jurisdictions. The Department of Homeland Security said recent arrests included gang members, drug traffickers, child abusers, and repeat offenders from Mexico and Venezuela, including a confirmed member of the Tren de Aragua criminal organization — recently designated a foreign terrorist group.
Noem said the administration will not allow violent protests or local political resistance to undermine federal law enforcement.
“Our brave men and women of law enforcement are being targeted and attacked by violent anarchists who seek to tear down America,” she said. “I want every member of law enforcement to know this—President Trump and I have your backs.”
The Department of Homeland Security reaffirmed that operations will continue nationwide despite hostility from city officials and violent anti-ICE activists. “We will not let domestic terrorists or lawless rioters slow us down from fulfilling the President’s mandate to arrest the worst of the worst,” the department said.
