WASHINGTON — More than 180 Department of Homeland Security vehicles have been attacked by agitators since President Trump took office amid heated demonstrations against mass deportations in Democrat-controlled cities, officials told The Post Tuesday.
The 182 attacks against cars driven by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as Customs and Border Protection, are a startling uptick from 53 incidents during the same period last year, DHS officials said in providing the updated figures.
Those included tire slashings, rammings that totaled vehicles and attempts to run over DHS officers — with some of the criminal illegal aliens still at large.
DHS officials blamed Democratic politicians in so-called “sanctuary” states and localities, which refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, for fomenting the destruction.
One Border Patrol vehicle was pursued by agitators in Chicago who rammed them and later smashed out the car’s back window. The as-yet-unidentified assailants also tried to breach an FBI facility but were ultimately arrested for the assaults, which occurred in November.
Another incident occurred in St. Paul, Minnesota, last December, when an illegal alien from Cuba struck two ICE officers with his white SUV and battered vehicles while trying to flee.
Juan Carlos Rodrigues Romero was eventually arrested in a struggle outside his apartment complex after injuring two of the officers.
He came into the US in 2024 under the Biden administration through the CBP One app, which fast-tracked so-called humanitarian parole for more than 1 million Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants, per officials.
Before that, in October, a Latin Kings gang member and other migrants with rap sheets attacked Border Patrol agents during three vehicle attacks in Chicago — and were later apprehended.
A Mexican illegal alien who previously evaded arrest was also stopped that month in Los Angeles and tried to ram his vehicle into ICE officers, who fired defensive shots.
The migrant Carlito Ricardo Parias was hit with bullets in the elbow and hand and later treated by EMTs following the arrest. Federal agents on scene — who included members of the US Marshals Services — sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Several other suspected members of the vicious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua also rammed ICE and Border Patrol vehicles during enforcement actions in December 2025 and January 2026, respectively.
Luis Jesus Acosta Gutierrez, one of those Venezuelan nationals, tried to force an officer’s vehicle into a tree before his arrest.
In the latter incident, Luis David Nico Moncada, who entered the US in 2022 and was later arrested for a DUI, was shot after having “weaponized” his car in Portland, Ore., against the BP agents and is now in final proceedings for removal.
Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, who entered the US at El Paso, Texas, in 2023, had been “involved with a prior shooting in Portland,” officials noted.
Since Jan. 21 last year, at least 68 vehicle attacks have targeted ICE officers, compared with just two attacks the previous year — a 3,300% increase in vehicular attacks.
CBP officers between Trump’s first day in office and Jan. 24, 2026, also braved 114 vehicular attacks, compared with 51 in the preceding year — a 124% increase.
DHS officials blamed Democratic politicians in so-called “sanctuary” states and localities, which refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, for fomenting the destruction.
“Sanctuary politicians with their rhetoric comparing ICE to the Nazi Gestapo, slave patrols, and the secret police and encouraging illegal aliens to evade arrest have incited violence against law enforcement,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
“In addition to these vehicle attacks, our officers are also facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats as they risk their lives to arrest murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists.”
The sanctuary jurisdictions include Minneapolis, where Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey has vowed to “not enforce fed immigration laws” after the fatal shootings of two residents by DHS officers last month who had also carried out vehicle-involved attacks on federal officers.
Alex Pretti, 37, was one of the Minnesotans killed by federal agents. He had previously been caught on videotape attacking an ICE vehicle and kicking out its back taillight with his foot.
Pretti and Renee Good, also 37, were both shot dead while impeding immigration enforcement, officials said.
Pretti was armed with a handgun and got into a struggle with Border Patrol agents before two of the officers opened fire.
Good accelerated her car into an ICE agent who shot her. Both the shootings are now under federal investigation.
