Former Acting ICE Director and AFPI Sr. Fellow Tony Pham: Anti-ICE Rhetoric Must End Now 

Washington, DC — In response to the growing violence associated with ICE protests in Minnesota, AFPI Homeland Security and Immigration Senior Fellow and former Acting Director for Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tony Pham released the following statement: 

"The recent ICE-related shootings in Minneapolis and Portland have sparked widespread violent protests and led to a misinformed debate regarding federal law enforcement operations and public safety. As former Acting Director of ICE, here’s what I know: elected officials’ mischaracterizations of ICE officers and inflammatory rhetoric have emboldened civilian activists to repeatedly physically intervene in active law enforcement operations, thus increasing the risk that protesters and officers alike are placed in harm’s way. We have heard inflammatory rhetoric from radical leftist politicians across the country - and sadly, we are now witnessing the tragic consequences of their irresponsible behavior. Anti-ICE rhetoric must end now - to keep both law enforcement and civilians safe."