Attorney General Pam Bondi on Monday ordered multiple federal law enforcement agencies to deploy "all necessary officers and agents" to defend ICE facilities and personnel "under attack."
Bondi issued a memo to the FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, and the DEA with a charge of arresting "every person suspected of threatening or assaulting a federal law enforcement officer."
"The DOJ is deploying agents to protect ICE facilities, arrest violent agitators on the spot, and bring the strongest federal charges possible," Bondi said in a post to X.
In Portland, tensions have repeatedly boiled over at the ICE facility, with demonstrations escalating into riot conditions on several occasions. Protesters broke windows, tried to force entry, and law enforcement declared a riot. Federal officers and local police arrested multiple people during these clashes. Some protests involved nightly standoffs with officers, throwing objects, and aggressive chants near the building. The city has also boarded up windows at the ICE building in anticipation of unrest.
In the Chicago area, the Trump administration's "Operation Midway Blitz" has brought a heavier ICE presence and frequent confrontations in downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. At the Broadview ICE processing facility, federal agents have used tear gas or pepper spray against protesters. Outside the Broadview center, over 200 rioters reportedly gathered days after the Dallas shooting, chanting threats toward federal agents.
In Dallas, gunman Joshua Jahn fired from a rooftop at an ICE facility, targeting both the building and a transport van containing detainees. Three detainees were shot — one died, two remain in critical condition — and the gunman later died from a self-inflicted wound. Investigators found an unused bullet with "ANTI-ICE" inscribed on it, suggesting ideology as a motive.
"Enough is enough," Bondi said in the post, before her order to "direct all necessary officers and agents to defend ICE facilities and personnel whenever and wherever they come under attack, including in Portland and Chicago.
"Our officers will suppress all unlawful rioting and arrest every person suspected of threatening or assaulting a federal law enforcement officer or interfering with federal law enforcement operations. I am further directing the U.S. Attorney's Offices for the District of Oregon and Northern District of Illinois to charge all such persons with the highest provable offense available under the law."
Further, Bondi said all state and local law enforcement officers protecting ICE facilities are now added to a "temporary ICE Protection Task Force."
Newsmax wires contributed to this report.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.