GOP senators introduce bill to increase penalties for assaulting ICE officers

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

Republican U.S. senators, led by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, have introduced the ICE Protection Act to increase penalties for those who assault and injure U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

The bill was filed as an unprecedented amount of assaults continue against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers as they perform daily immigration enforcement duties.

“The Radical Left has taken up a senseless crusade against our brave men and women in law enforcement, and Democrats’ inflammatory rhetoric has fueled an alarming rise in violence that not only endangers our communities but also harms the very people sworn to keep them safe,” Cornyn said in a statement. “This legislation would increase penalties for any offender who violently assaults a law enforcement officer, including by using a car or truck as a weapon, and sends a clear message that attacks on those who protect and serve will not be tolerated.”

The bill, which has several cosponsors, would increase penalties for those who assault ICE officers, resist arrest and interfere with law enforcement official duties while using a deadly or dangerous weapon. It also would increase penalties if an officer is injured during the assault. It also adds mandatory minimum sentences for those who use vehicles to attack officers.

It would amend Title 18 U.S. Code to enhance penalties for those who use a deadly or dangerous weapon, “including a weapon that is intended to cause death or danger but fails to do so by reason of a defective component or inflicts bodily injury,” according to the bill language. The penalty includes fines and a prison sentence of up to 40 years.

It would double the statutory maximum sentence under current law from 20 years to 40 years in prison for assaulting, resisting arrest, impeding or interfering with law enforcement while using a deadly or dangerous weapon, or injuring an officer during an assault.

The bill also establishes minimum penalties for those who use a motor vehicle to attack an ICE officer and cause bodily injury. Minimum penalties are based on the level of injury: a minimum of five years in prison if the vehicular attack results in bodily injury, seven years if it results in substantial bodily injury and 10 years if it results in serious bodily injury.

The bill was filed as a Cuban national rammed his vehicle into two ICE vehicles as ICE officers attempted to arrest him in northern San Antonio. One officer went to the hospital with neck injuries, The Center Square reported.

It was also filed after assaults against ICE officers are up 1,300%, vehicular attacks are up 3,200% and death threats are up 8,000% in one year, The Center Square reported. From Jan. 21, 2025, to Jan. 7, 2026, there were 66 vehicular attacks against ICE officers, compared to two during the same timeframe during the previous year, the Department of Homeland Security said.

An historic surge of vehicular attacks against ICE officers have proven to be dangerous, and deadly, for federal agents and those committing them. In the last week, a U.S. citizen was shot and killed during an alleged vehicular attack in Minneapolis. Two alleged Tren de Aragua members and Venezuelans were shot in Portland, Ore., by Border Patrol agents, and another Venezuelan was shot Wednesday night during an enforcement action in Minneapolis.

Democrats have blamed ICE for instigating or escalating the incidents.

“The surge in vehicular attacks and violence against law enforcement is a result of increasingly inflammatory rhetoric from the Left,” Cornyn said. “From outgoing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz calling ICE law enforcement the ‘modern-day Gestapo,’ to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey saying ICE should ‘get the f**k out of Minneapolis,’ to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker outlandishly accusing the United States of ‘essentially’ becoming Nazi Germany, this type of rhetoric and dehumanization against law enforcement must end.”

By contrast, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has taken the opposite approach, arguing those attacking ICE officers should be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extend of the law. He has also surged law enforcement resources to support ICE officers and created specialized task forces to target violent crime, terrorist threats and Tren de Aragua and other foreign terrorist organization members, The Center Square reported.

Abbott and Cornyn, who are both running for reelection, have been endorsed by numerous law enforcement agencies in Texas.