WASHINGTON, DC – A recent report from NPR aims to disprove the White House’s claims that attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have increased “more than 1,000 percent” in recent months, citing that prosecutorial data does not reflect the alleged increase in attacks on agents.
On September 25, the White House released an executive order dubbed “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” in which, within the events and circumstances detailed in the justification of the executive order, the alarming uptick in violence directed toward federal agents and officers is mentioned.
“Riots in Los Angeles and Portland reflect a more than 1,000 percent increase in attacks on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers since January 21, 2025, compared to the same period last year,” the executive order reads, an assertion from the White House triggered an effort by NPR to try to debunk the notion.
Pointing to court records, NPR suggests the White House is exaggerating or being hyperbolic in their claims of increased attacks on ICE agents, noting in the report, “An analysis of court records shows about a 25% rise in charges for assault against federal officers through mid-September, compared with the same period a year ago.”
NPR does note in its report that violent actions against federal law enforcement are on the rise, highlighting a litany of recent events ranging from protests across Los Angeles and Portland to the Texas sniper incident from September, where authorities believe the shooter who reportedly killed two detainees was likely attempting to take out ICE agents at a detention center.
Even taking into consideration the aforementioned, NPR notes, “those serious incidents, together they still don't come anywhere close to the administration's claim of a 1,000% increase in assaults over just a few months.”
But the nuance missing from NPR’s analysis on the matter can be summed up in one sentence: not every attack, attempted or otherwise, against federal agents can be reasonably pursued or prosecuted.
It’s a widely accepted notion, even in social sciences communities like criminology, that the absence of criminal charges related to a violent assault doesn’t mean the assault never occurred. Outfits like RAINN exemplify this very reality, representing data of alleged sexual assaults regardless of whether there’s an accompanying police report or filing of charges.
NPR came close to reconciling with the concept of not all assaults incur charges, noting in the analysis, “For Homeland Security and ICE claims of a 1,000% increase in assaults to be true, there would also have to be thousands of other assaults that did not result in criminal charges,” but then the report goes back on course with the debunking narrative with the follow-up sentencing reading, “This despite the government's claim that all assaults on federal agents will be prosecuted.”
A former Deputy Field Office Director for ICE in New York City, Scott Mechkowski, is even quoted in the NPR piece about the reality of being assaulted on the job rarely ever resulting in criminal charges coming to fruition, saying, “The way it's presented and prosecuted in federal court is different for us. Like we were told – most of the time our guys got bit or they got punched – and we were told that’s part of the job.”
Given the current anti-ICE sentiments permeating progressive-minded populations across the country and nightly demonstrations and riots that have gone on for months where federal agents were the targets of said protests, it’s quite plausible that attacks on federal agents have risen 1,000% over the past year – because percentage increases aren’t the same as simple multiplication.
For example, if there were 100 incidents of assaults on agents in a given month last year and it increased by 100% the following year, the total number would be 200 incidents. Taking the same formula and replacing the 100% increase with a 1,000% increase, the outcome would be 1,000 incidents compared to 100 from the previous year, or what most people would characterize as a 10-to-1 disparity. And when taking everything into account, it’s hardly far-fetched to concede that attacks on federal agents, both prosecuted and unprosecuted, have seen a 10-to-1 increase over the past year.
On September 25, the White House released an executive order dubbed “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” in which, within the events and circumstances detailed in the justification of the executive order, the alarming uptick in violence directed toward federal agents and officers is mentioned.
“Riots in Los Angeles and Portland reflect a more than 1,000 percent increase in attacks on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers since January 21, 2025, compared to the same period last year,” the executive order reads, an assertion from the White House triggered an effort by NPR to try to debunk the notion.
Pointing to court records, NPR suggests the White House is exaggerating or being hyperbolic in their claims of increased attacks on ICE agents, noting in the report, “An analysis of court records shows about a 25% rise in charges for assault against federal officers through mid-September, compared with the same period a year ago.”
NPR does note in its report that violent actions against federal law enforcement are on the rise, highlighting a litany of recent events ranging from protests across Los Angeles and Portland to the Texas sniper incident from September, where authorities believe the shooter who reportedly killed two detainees was likely attempting to take out ICE agents at a detention center.
Even taking into consideration the aforementioned, NPR notes, “those serious incidents, together they still don't come anywhere close to the administration's claim of a 1,000% increase in assaults over just a few months.”
But the nuance missing from NPR’s analysis on the matter can be summed up in one sentence: not every attack, attempted or otherwise, against federal agents can be reasonably pursued or prosecuted.
It’s a widely accepted notion, even in social sciences communities like criminology, that the absence of criminal charges related to a violent assault doesn’t mean the assault never occurred. Outfits like RAINN exemplify this very reality, representing data of alleged sexual assaults regardless of whether there’s an accompanying police report or filing of charges.
NPR came close to reconciling with the concept of not all assaults incur charges, noting in the analysis, “For Homeland Security and ICE claims of a 1,000% increase in assaults to be true, there would also have to be thousands of other assaults that did not result in criminal charges,” but then the report goes back on course with the debunking narrative with the follow-up sentencing reading, “This despite the government's claim that all assaults on federal agents will be prosecuted.”
A former Deputy Field Office Director for ICE in New York City, Scott Mechkowski, is even quoted in the NPR piece about the reality of being assaulted on the job rarely ever resulting in criminal charges coming to fruition, saying, “The way it's presented and prosecuted in federal court is different for us. Like we were told – most of the time our guys got bit or they got punched – and we were told that’s part of the job.”
Given the current anti-ICE sentiments permeating progressive-minded populations across the country and nightly demonstrations and riots that have gone on for months where federal agents were the targets of said protests, it’s quite plausible that attacks on federal agents have risen 1,000% over the past year – because percentage increases aren’t the same as simple multiplication.
For example, if there were 100 incidents of assaults on agents in a given month last year and it increased by 100% the following year, the total number would be 200 incidents. Taking the same formula and replacing the 100% increase with a 1,000% increase, the outcome would be 1,000 incidents compared to 100 from the previous year, or what most people would characterize as a 10-to-1 disparity. And when taking everything into account, it’s hardly far-fetched to concede that attacks on federal agents, both prosecuted and unprosecuted, have seen a 10-to-1 increase over the past year.
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