Attorney General Pam Bondi announced late Friday that she has deployed Justice Department agents to safeguard Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities nationwide. The decision follows a deadly shooting at an ICE field office in Dallas earlier this week that left one detainee dead and two others injured.
Bondi said the deployment is intended to protect federal personnel and property, while ensuring swift arrests of individuals involved in attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “At my direction, I am deploying DOJ agents to Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities—and wherever Immigration and Customs Enforcement comes under siege—to safeguard federal agents, protect federal property, and immediately arrest all individuals engaged in any federal crime,” Bondi wrote on X.
Although it is not yet clear which specific agencies will take part in the operation, the Justice Department oversees several major law enforcement bodies, including the FBI, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, and ATF.
Growing Tensions Around Immigration and Customs Enforcement Facilities
Violence and threats against Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel have surged in recent months as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on illegal immigration, increasing arrests and deportations. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field operations in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York have faced not only heightened protests but also direct clashes with demonstrators.
The Dallas shooting, which authorities are still investigating, is the latest in a series of incidents that have targeted Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers or facilities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have warned that hostility toward its operations has escalated significantly in 2025, posing safety risks to agents and detainees alike.
Attorney General Bondi said her directive represents a broader effort to crack down on “repeated acts of violence and obstruction against federal agents,” stressing that perpetrators will face the harshest penalties available under federal law.
Bondi Expands Counterterrorism Efforts
In addition to Bondi’s directive, President Trump, now serving his second term, has launched a series of new measures targeting political violence. On Thursday, he signed a memorandum ordering the Joint Terrorism Task Forces to investigate what the administration describes as rising acts of domestic terrorism.
The White House cited the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this month, last year’s assassination attempts against President Trump, and escalating attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers as justification for the crackdown. The president also issued an executive order labeling antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, though legal experts have noted that domestic terrorism is not a chargeable offense under current U.S. law.
Bondi said the Justice Department will pursue charges ranging from conspiracy and assault to civil disorder and terrorism offenses. “The Department of Justice will seek the most serious available charges against all participants in these criminal mobs,” she wrote.
