Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, defending recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities, said Wednesday that ICE officers have faced a more than 1,300% increase in vehicle attacks and warned that illegal immigrants who flee arrest are creating dangerous situations.

"Our #1 goal is to keep our officers safe and get criminals OFF our streets," Mullin wrote in a post on X. "Illegal aliens will be arrested and deported wherever they are. If you are here illegally, LEAVE NOW."

Mullin said ICE officers are increasingly coming under attack while enforcing the nation's immigration laws.

"As our officers carry out operations to enforce our nation's laws, they are facing a more than 1,300% increase in vehicle attacks," he wrote.

The Homeland Security secretary also cautioned against fleeing from federal agents.

"We remind illegal aliens [that] attempting to evade arrest is dangerous," Mullin added. "This reckless illegal alien activity comes after sanctuary politicians held webinars and shared resources for how to openly defy @ICEgov."

Mullin accused several Democrat officials of encouraging illegal immigrants to evade federal authorities.

He pointed out the following:

– Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., hosted a webinar offering advice on avoiding ICE arrests.

– Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., posted a video encouraging illegal immigrants to prepare for ICE encounters.

– Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass distributed multilingual materials on avoiding arrest.

– California Gov. Gavin Newsom released guides explaining how to recognize ICE officers, block entry, and defy arrest.

Mullin's comments came as immigration enforcement tactics have come under renewed scrutiny following three recent deaths during encounters involving ICE agents.

On Monday, ICE personnel attempting to stop a vehicle in Biddeford, Maine, fatally shot Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian national. Homeland Security officials have said the shooting remains under investigation.

The Maine incident came days after another fatal ICE shooting during a vehicle stop in Houston. DHS has said agents believed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, resembled the suspect they were seeking and that an agent fired in self-defense after Salgado Araujo allegedly rammed an ICE vehicle.

A third death occurred Tuesday in St. Augustine, Florida, when a 28-year-old man fleeing from an encounter with ICE and Homeland Security Investigations agents at a gas station was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer after running across a busy highway, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The man was one of four occupants of a vehicle who fled on foot during the encounter.

The incidents have fueled protests and debate over ICE enforcement methods.

Earlier Wednesday, President Donald Trump urged ICE agents to continue using traffic stops as an enforcement tool after reports that the Department of Homeland Security had paused routine vehicle stops following the Maine and Texas shootings.

"We CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.'s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal's hands."

Trump also praised ICE personnel, saying they were "doing a GREAT job" and urged them to "be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job."