ICE Agent’s Comment to Man Sparks Backlash: ‘Should Scare Every American’
A video that appears to show an ICE agent telling an individual, “You raise your voice, I erase your voice,” has sparked backlash, with a free speech organization calling the statement “about as un-American as it gets.”
"DHS will never confirm or deny attempts to dox our law enforcement officers. Doxxing our officers put their lives and their families in serious danger," Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Newsweek when asked about the incident.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump’s administration is carrying out a series of federal immigration enforcement operations in major cities. The operations have sparked scrutiny and protests.
What To Know
The viral video has over 11 million views on X. It appears to show an ICE agent sitting in the driver’s seat of a car with the window down, while the person filming is outside of the car.
In the video obtained by Newsweek, the federal agent said, “I will tell you this, brother.”
The man filming replied, “What?”
The federal agent said, “You know, I will tell you this. You raise your voice, I erase your voice.”
"You what? You erase my voice?" the person filming asked.
The ICE agent said, “Whatever it is.”
“You erase my voice? Is that what you said?” the person filming said. “If I raise my voice, you’ll erase my...”
The ICE agent interrupted the person filming and said, “Exactly, yeah. Yeah.”
“Are you serious?” the person filming asked.
The federal agent said, “Yes.”
The person filming said, “You said if I raise my voice, you’ll erase my voice?”
The ICE agent replied, “Yes.”
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) said the viral video was “about as un-American as it gets.”
“The events in Minnesota give the country a lesson in the First Amendment that we’d all be better off remembering: The government can punish actual crimes, but it cannot punish protected criticism or protest,” FIRE said on X. “When the government blurs those lines, it stops enforcing the law and starts acting like might makes right. That should scare every American.”
What People Are Saying
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement to Newsweek: "Our law enforcement officers are on the frontlines arresting terrorists, gang members, murderers, pedophiles, and rapists. Now, thanks to the malicious rhetoric of sanctuary politicians, they are under constant threat from violent agitators. They are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, a 3,200% increase in vehicular attacks against them, and an 8,000% increase in death threats against them. Publicizing their identities puts their lives and the lives of their families at serious risk.”
Representative Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, on X: "Dear @DHSgov : You need to implement an immediate stand down of ICE and Border Patrol interior operations so your agents can learn the Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the United States."
House Homeland Security Committee Democrats, on X: "Example #10,000: The threats are coming FROM ICE, not against."