GOP Sen. Schmitt moves to raise penalties for attacking ICE amid surge in violence

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., on Thursday announced that he would introduce a bill to raise the maximum penalties for attacking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel amid an uptick in violent opposition to mass deportations.

"The punishment for attacking an ICE agent should be swift and devastating," he said.
"
I'm introducing a bill to double the maximum federal penalty.

Left-wing radicals want to use violence to advance their political agenda. We can't let them win.

The mass deportations must continue."

The White House confirmed this week that ICE agents had faced a 700% surge in assaults against them as federal agents moved to ramp up arrests and deportations following passage of the "One, Big Beautiful Bill Act."

That legislation greatly expanded ICE's budget to double its detention space from 50,000 beds to 100,000 and to hire as many as 10,000 additional agents.

President Donald Trump has vowed to deport as many as 21 million illegal aliens from the country.