Vance in Minneapolis: Much of Media ‘Lying’ About Work of ICE Agents

Vice President JD Vance said during a speech in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Thursday that much of the media lies about the work that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents do.

Vance, standing in front of ICE agents, said the agents on hand “are doing an incredible job” and called out media near the top of his remarks.

“One of the things I learned is that the guys behind me are doing an incredible job, and frankly, a lot of the media is lying about the job that they do every single day,” he said, adding:

Now it doesn’t mean that there aren’t occasionally stories out there, there aren’t occasionally videos out there that suggest that these guys, or at least some of the people who work for them are not doing everything right, but very often, if you look at the context of what’s going on, you understand that these people are under an incredible amount of duress, an incredible amount of chaos, and because of a few very far left agitators, a lot of these guys are unable to do their jobs without being harassed, without being doxxed, and sometimes without being assaulted, that’s totally unacceptable.

Vance welcomed protests against himself and the administration’s immigration policies, but warned that assaulting law enforcement officers would result in a full-scale prosecution.

“Protest me. Protest our immigration policy, but do it peacefully. If you assault a law enforcement officer, the Trump administration and the Department of Justice is going to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.

Vance then shared an experience he heard of while meeting with ICE agents and roundtable participants on Thursday about two off-duty agents being accosted by “agitators” while out to dinner:

For example, did you know that within the last, I think, week or so, maybe even more recently than that, you had a couple of ICE officers who were off duty, who had been doxed online, who were sitting and having a meal at a restaurant in Minneapolis, when a bunch of agitators showed up, locked the door, made them feel like they were in danger for their lives, and then, of course, it was federal law enforcement officers who had to come up, lower the temperature on the situation and actually get those two off-duty officers to a point of safety.

“A lot of very frankly, far-left people,” along with some elected state and local law enforcement officials, have fostered the anti-ICE environment, according to the vice president.

Vance’s remarks in Minneapolis came after a stop in Toledo, Ohio, earlier in the day.