More than 600,000 convicted predators, gang leaders, drug traffickers and violent criminals have been removed from our streets since Inauguration Day. That’s not an estimate—it’s ICE hard data. And 1.9 million additional illegal entrants chose to self-deport rather than face arrest.
Tennessee is living proof of these results. In Memphis, President Trump’s Safe Task Force teamed up with ICE to restore law and order in the city with the nation’s highest crime rate. Since September, overall crime is down 44 percent. Car thefts are off 70 percent. Murders have plunged 44 percent.
These aren’t statistics on paper—they represent real families sleeping more soundly, businesses staying open past dusk, and neighborhoods where children play safely again.
Task Force officers have made over 5,800 total arrests. Hundreds were for domestic violence and aggravated assault. Dozens more targeted narcotics rings, robberies, homicides and sexual assaults. ICE alone accounted for nearly 800 of these arrests—apprehending child abusers, human traffickers, domestic violence perpetrators and violent drug dealers.
In November, Shelby County Sheriff’s Department formalized this partnership by signing a 287(g) agreement with ICE. Now, local deputies can detain and transport illegal aliens wanted on federal charges. This model should be replicated in every county, every state.
Across Tennessee, ICE agents have kept the pressure on. In Monroe County, a meth kingpin is behind bars. In Nashville, dangerous members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang—implicated in transnational sex trafficking—have been rounded up and are awaiting prosecution.
Despite these victories, radical Democrats have launched a vile campaign to discredit ICE. Gavin Newsom calls these officers “secret police.” Tim Walz likens them to the Gestapo. Ilhan Omar dismisses their work as “beyond cruel.” Rashida Tlaib warns of a “fascist police state.” This rhetoric is not just dishonest—it is deadly.
Over the past year, assaults on ICE personnel have risen by 1,300 percent. Far-left activists now actively obstruct lawful operations, putting agents—and the public—at grave risk. In Minneapolis, an anti-ICE protester attacked an agent’s vehicle, forcing an officer to use lethal force in self-defense.
Rather than tone down their rhetoric, Democrats have doubled down. Minneapolis’s mayor has ordered ICE out of his city. Minnesota is suing to block federal enforcement. In Congress, House and Senate Democrats threaten to force a government shutdown if ICE funding isn’t slashed.
Mainstream media outlets fuel the fire by amplifying false narratives. In one Tennessee county, local reporters claimed state troopers ran over a protester. Dashcam footage showed the man deliberately stepped in front of the vehicle—and walked away unharmed.
The truth is unassailable: ICE officers put their lives on the line every day to defend our communities. From Memphis to Minneapolis, they are on the front lines of public safety and national security. They deserve our unwavering support.
We must stand with ICE. We must back law enforcement at every level. And we must hold accountable those Democrats who put politics over public safety—every single day.
By U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee
