WASHINGTON– The White House on Friday sharply criticized a recent video by New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani urging immigrants to “stand up to ICE,” warning that such messaging is contributing to a dramatic increase in harassment and violence against federal immigration officers.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration is “definitely concerned about the rise in violence and attacks and physical threats” targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, describing what she called a serious and alarming escalation.
“We’ve seen more than a 1,000 per cent increase in violent attacks on them and their families,” Leavitt said during a press briefing.
She said ICE officers “have been doxed, they’ve been harassed, many of them have been physically assaulted and attacked,” emphasizing that agents are simply “enforcing our nation’s immigration laws.”
Asked whether messaging from New York’s incoming leadership could encourage residents to resist immigration enforcement operations, Leavitt said the administration “condemns that wholeheartedly” and will continue its efforts “in every state… to remove illegal aliens and public safety threats from American communities.”
Leavitt’s remarks came as President Donald Trump has described the current border situation as the “most secure” in U.S. history, citing record-low encounter numbers. According to the White House, “for the seventh consecutive month, U.S. Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into the United States.”
She contrasted the administration’s record with that of the previous government, saying, “In ten months under President Trump, we’ve seen less apprehensions overall than we saw in one month under Joe Biden.”
The administration’s hardline approach to immigration enforcement has found support in parts of the country, but has also heightened tensions in major metropolitan areas such as New York, which is home to large immigrant populations, including thousands from India.
Leavitt said the president has restored “sovereignty” at the southern border and delivered “the single greatest and fastest national security victory in modern American history,” adding that the continued decline in unlawful crossings represents “remarkable results.”
Immigration enforcement remains one of the most divisive issues in U.S. politics, with successive administrations grappling with how to balance humanitarian considerations, public safety, and border security, often under the scrutiny of the courts and public opinion. (Source: IANS)
