Go big, then go smart: Trump, ICE and the law. How to skip the left’s PR trap
The current violence against federal agents trying to expel illegal aliens — committed by far-left activists and encouraged by left-wing politicians — is unacceptable.
In June 2025 in Los Angeles, agents carrying out due process against illegal aliens were assaulted. Mayor Karen Bass blamed federal enforcement for her city’s lawless protests, only ordering a curfew when dozens of businesses were looted.
In September, ICE launched Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, arresting many criminal illegal aliens in the face of violent protests with no support from Mayor Brandon Johnson or Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
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Last October, a brawl occurred outside a Portland, Oregon ICE facility between Antifa and conservative activists. In Portland, officers shot two alleged members of Venezuela’s deadly Tren de Aragua gang who had attempted to run them over.
And we all know what happened in Minneapolis between an ICE agent and slain activist Renee Good. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz responded with a mix of falsehood and hyperbole. He ignored the fact the ICE agents were there to arrest illegal immigrants — usually highly dangerous recidivist criminals — pursuant to U.S. law.
President Donald Trump has options.
Title 10 of the U.S. Code allows him to deploy federal troops in instances of "a rebellion or danger of a rebellion" against the U.S. government to protect federal agents and property.
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The Insurrection Act of 1807 allows him to deploy troops to "enforce the laws" of the United States or to "suppress rebellion" whenever "unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion" make it "impracticable" to enforce federal law in a state.
Immigration enforcement is a federal duty. The Constitution’s Supremacy Clause means that federal law overrides state law. No governor or mayor, no matter how left-wing their own policies, can refuse to allow federal agents to do their duty.
Private citizens who impede federal agents (or local police) from doing their jobs are committing a felony. Non-citizens who do so carry the risk not only of criminal charges, but also of deportation resulting from a conviction.
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The Trump administration must show that they will not be intimidated by mobs, nor threatened by grandstanding local politicians.
But once that point is made, DHS and ICE need to change gears to avoid falling into the obvious PR trap that’s been set for them. For ICE, arresting dangerous felons in tough neighborhoods in cities run by left-wing mayors is a triple threat.
First, agents must worry about the aliens themselves, who may be armed and dangerous. Second, they have to watch out for activist mobs impeding their vehicles, throwing things, assaulting officers, and possibly worse. Third, they must travel in large numbers, knowing that local police are forbidden from, unwilling, or incapable of protecting them or coming to their aid.
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That means every operation is expensive, labor-intensive and high-risk. Everything is being filmed, from every angle. Every move by every officer is scrutinized by millions of armchair social-justice warriors, all now suddenly experts on forensics and tactics.
Trump’s base will support tough tactics, while the left will oppose any enforcement. Moderate and swing voters will be turned off by the inevitable injuries and deaths. If they watch or read legacy media, events will always be spun so that law enforcement looks bad, whatever the facts.
So, what can ICE do differently in 2026?
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More workplace enforcement, and targeted arrests in unpredictable locations and times.
To help them, technology has advanced considerably since Trump’s first term, and AI is a force multiplier for routine investigations. ICE is spending "more than $300 million… for social-media monitoring tools, facial recognition software, license plate readers and services to find where people live and work," according to Politico.
In using identification and surveillance technology, DHS faces opposition from not only open-border activists, but also conservatives with privacy concerns. But it’s a fight worth having.
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Facial recognition and social media-combing technology can be calibrated to tag only non-citizens in the DHS database.
ICE is also investing millions in so-called "skip tracing" technology, which can more easily identify illegal aliens while leaving American citizens alone.
U.S. consulates overseas are using AI to screen the social media of visa applicants, and USCIS has announced a "new vetting center [that] will focus on powerful screening resources." ICE should be able to access all that information, as well as that of other federal agencies like the Social Security Administration and Health and Human Services. Citizens’ data is protected by privacy laws, but non-citizens, particularly those here illegally, have no right to expect that one part of the government will keep information from another.
Trump needs to "go big" to show the likes of Walz and Frey how the Constitution works. Then DHS should go about the business of mass deportation with more deliberation and subtlety — for the long haul. Americans need to see law enforcement normalized once again.