Police Group Endorses ICE Protection Act

The ICE Protection Act of 2026, introduced by Senator John Cornyn and co-sponsored by six other Republican senators, aims to significantly increase penalties for assaulting federal law enforcement officers. The bill proposes doubling the maximum prison term from 20 to 40 years for assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon and introduces mandatory minimum sentences for using a vehicle to cause harm. Specifically, the legislation would establish a minimum five-year sentence for causing bodily injury with a vehicle, a seven-year minimum for "substantial bodily injury," and a ten-year minimum for "serious bodily injury." This legislative push comes after the Department of Homeland Security reported a 3,200% surge in vehicular assaults on ICE officers over the past year. Between January 2025 and January 2026, there were 68 reported vehicular attacks against ICE law enforcement, a dramatic increase from only two during the same period the previous year. Overall, the DHS has reported a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against ICE officers and an 8,000% increase in death threats during the first year of the Trump administration. The National Police Association's endorsement follows a series of confrontational incidents between protestors and ICE agents. In Chicago, ICE agents were reportedly boxed in by ten vehicles, leading to the deployment of special operations forces. In another instance in San Francisco, protestors blocked and jumped on the hood of an ICE vehicle as it was driving away. The increased tension and reported violence have been noted by federal agencies, with a joint DHS and FBI bulletin warning of attacks on ICE facilities and personnel by "domestic violent extremists." The bulletin highlighted an evolution in tactics and an escalation in violence compared to past incidents which primarily involved property damage. While law enforcement groups cite these statistics as justification for increased protections, some reports have questioned the public data supporting the DHS's statistical claims about assaults. Critics have also raised concerns about the broad application of assault charges against protestors and what they term the "criminalization of dissent." This legislative effort is part of a broader expansion of immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. The 287(g) program, which deputizes local police for immigration enforcement, has seen its use expand dramatically, with over 1,130 new agreements signed in 2025 alone, compared to just 45 in 2019. In response to the administration's aggressive immigration tactics, some lawmakers are pushing for greater accountability. The "ICE and CBP Constitutional Accountability Act" was recently introduced to provide a civil remedy for individuals whose rights have been violated by ICE or Customs and Border Protection agents.