The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claim criminals in Mexico have offered bounties of up to $50,000, to dox, kidnap, or kill U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials.
The DHS announced that Mexican criminals have banded with domestic extremist groups to pay people to carry out the aim to thwart ICE and CBP personnel from obtaining people they may consider to be illegal residents in the United States. The agency has claimed that these criminal networks have put out specific instructions to people who are labeled U.S.-based sympathetics, including Chicago street gangs. They have been instructed to monitor, harass, and assassinate federal agents.
“These criminal networks are not just resisting the rule of law; they are waging an organized campaign of terror against the brave men and women who protect our borders and communities,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in a written statement. “Our agents are facing ambushes, drone surveillance, and death threats, all because they dare to enforce the laws passed by Congress. We will not back down from these threats, and every criminal, terrorist, and illegal alien will face American justice.”
The Mexican cartels are supposedly incentivizing people to harm federal employees associated with the two aforementioned agencies, according to DHS, here’s the pay structure.
- $2,000 for gathering intelligence or doxxing agents (including photos and family details).
- $5,000–$10,000 for kidnapping or non-lethal assaults on standard ICE/CBP officers.
- Up to $50,000 for the assassination of high-ranking officials.
Based on information that was provided to the government, the criminal enterprises have deployed “spotters” in specific neighborhoods in Chicago, including Pilsen and Little Village. Gang members affiliated with groups like the Latin Kings have been sent to rooftops that are equipped with firearms and radio communications. They are supposedly tracking ICE and CBP movements in real-time and sending the information to the cartels.
The supposed movement has enabled individuals to ambush the agents and disrupt their activities during routine enforcement actions, according to DHS.
Since the beginning of his second term, President Donald Trump has laid the groundwork for ICE to carry out raids in specific cities in an effort to deport individuals who may not have legal resident status in the United States.
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