During a press briefing in Nashville, Tennessee, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was asked about increased threats and violence against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
00:02So you said that there's an 830% increase in these attacks against ICE agents.
00:06Yes.
00:07You've seen a lot of rhetoric, heated rhetoric, one congressman saying that people need to be willing to plead in their opposition to ICE.
00:15Who do you blame for this massive rise of violence against ICE agents?
00:19I would say it's the rhetoric of elected officials, of leaders, leftist organizations, and the media.
00:26When they don't tell the truth, there's consequences for that.
00:28When they don't talk about the facts of what's happening out on our streets and what the American people need,
00:34then it gets distorted and the information is used in a way that can undermine what the rule of law is.
00:41I would encourage every single media entity that's here today to go talk to an ICE agent about what their job is,
00:47what they've been told their priorities are, and what it's like for their family every single day to go out in the streets and try to go after these criminals.
00:54The Trump administration has specifically targeted the worst of the worst.
00:58The individuals that we are going after are those that are violent criminals, those that are breaking our laws,
01:04and those that have final removal orders.
01:06And in many of these places, we've negotiated for their safe return back to their own home country.
01:11And if they're criminals, they will face consequences for their crimes.
01:13I'm grateful for the fact that we have a president that stands up for the everyday American,
01:18and I would be thrilled if people would talk about the fact that when you get a rapist off the street, how many families have we protected?
01:26When you get a murderer off the street, a pedophile off the street, look at the families that will never have to be victims because that work was done.
01:33Too much time is spent focusing on these criminals when you should be focusing on the people who have been victims in the past,
01:39and the fact that we're stopping future people from becoming victims as well.
