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Thune’s SD SIte
The Leader Board • Remarks
February 18th, 2026

As Law Enforcement Officers Face Rising Threats, Democrats Defund the Police

AFTER FOUR YEARS OF FAILED DEMOCRAT LEADERSHIP, REPUBLICANS HAVE DELIVERED SAFER STREETS BY SECURING THE BORDER AND BACKING THE BLUE

“Our agents and officers are delivering unprecedented results, with border crossings and apprehensions at levels not seen in CBP history.” – Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott

  • “After Mr. Biden became president, migrant encounters at the southern border quickly doubled, then kept rising. New arrivals overwhelmed border stations, then border towns, and eventually major cities like New York and Denver.” (The New York Times: How Biden Ignored Warnings and Lost Americans’ Faith in Immigration – 12/7/25)
  • Addressing the chaos caused by the Biden administration, Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts law surged resources to ensure the Trump administration has adequate funding to keep the border secure and crime down. (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Secretary Noem Commends President Trump and One Big Beautiful Bill Signing into Law: Historic Win for the American People and the Rule of Law – 7/4/25)
  • In addition to providing funds to keep the border secure, Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts law allocated $750 million in funding for Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) for the “[t]raining of newly hired law enforcement personnel” and “[c]onstruction, maintenance, improvements, and equipping of FLETC facilities.” (U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Grassley Releases Updated Senate Judiciary Text in the One Big Beautiful Bill – 6/27/25)
    • “To protect America’s communities and clamp down on the flow of deadly drugs like fentanyl, the legislation funds DOJ efforts to combat drug trafficking and precursor chemicals.” (U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary: The One Big Beautiful Bill Makes America Safe Again – 7/8/25)
    • “The bill includes funding for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (Byrne JAG) and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to support boots-on-the-ground efforts to combat violent crime in local communities.” (U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary: The One Big Beautiful Bill Makes America Safe Again – 7/8/25)

AS A RESULT OF REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP, JANUARY MARKED THE NINTH STRAIGHT MONTH OF ZERO ILLEGAL ALIEN RELEASES INTO THE COUNTRY, AND VIOLENT CRIME HAS PLUMMETED

  • In January, “[f]or the ninth consecutive month, U.S. Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into the United States. Every individual apprehended was processed according to law – a milestone unmatched in modern border history.” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Historic 9th Straight Month of Zero Releases at the Border – 2/4/26)
  • Additionally, there were “34,631 total nationwide encounters in January—87% lower than the monthly average under the previous administration.” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Historic 9th Straight Month of Zero Releases at the Border – 2/4/26)
  • With just 6,073 apprehensions, January also marked “the fourth consecutive month of decline” in Border Patrol apprehensions along the Southwest border, “93% lower than the monthly average observed from FY1992–FY2024 (83,065/month).” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Historic 9th Straight Month of Zero Releases at the Border – 2/4/26)
  • “Record drug seizures in January” by Border Patrol included 816 pounds of fentanyl, 12,241 pounds of methamphetamine, 5,386 pounds of cocaine, and 17,639 pounds of marijuana. (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Historic 9th Straight Month of Zero Releases at the Border – 2/4/26)
  • “The Border Patrol recorded 237,538 encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in the 2025 fiscal year, which began in October 2024 and ended in September 2025. That was down from more than 1.5 million encounters in fiscal 2024, more than 2 million in fiscal 2023 and a record of more than 2.2 million in fiscal 2022. The 2025 total was the lowest in any fiscal year since 1970, according to historical data from the Border Patrol.” (Pew Research Center: Migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border are at their lowest level in more than 50 years – 2/2/26)
  • On top of this historic border security success, “[v]iolent crime dropped sharply across America’s biggest cities in 2025:” (Axios: Violent crime plummets across major U.S. cities – 2/11/26)
    • “The report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) shows declines across every major violent-crime category in 2025 compared to 2024.”
    • “Cities report that homicides overall fell 19%.”
    • “Robberies dropped about 20%.”
    • “Aggravated assaults were down nearly 10%.” (Axios: Violent crime plummets across major U.S. cities – 2/11/26)
  • “After years of chaos, skyrocketing crime, and soft-on-crime policies under Biden plunged the nation’s biggest cities into anarchy and disorder, President Trump took office on a promise to restore public safety — and he has delivered in historic fashion.” (White House: ICYMI: “Violent crime plummets across major U.S. cities” – 2/11/26)

BUT IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ARE FACING AN 8,000% INCREASE IN THREATS ON THEIR LIVES JUST FOR DOING THEIR JOBS

“I don’t know of another law enforcement agency in the country that has an 8,000% increase in threats. Just yesterday, the director of ICE – his wife was filmed walking to work. His home address has been doxed. His kids have been doxed and filmed.” – White House Border Czar Tom Homan

  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “officers are now facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them and a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them while they put their lives on the line to remove murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists from American neighborhoods.” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: ICE Officers Face an 8,000% Increase in Death Threats Against Them and Their Families – 1/26/26)
  • In October 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that “ICE officers’ family members have been doxed and threatened, and had bounties placed on their heads for their murders.” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: 8000% Increase in Death Threats Against ICE Law Enforcement as They Risk Their Lives to Remove the Worst of the Worst – 10/30/25)
  • “U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border [Protection] (CBP) have experienced 182 vehicle attacks against them since President Trump took office.”
    • “This is a 3,300% increase in vehicular attacks against ICE law enforcement” and “a 124% increase against CBP law enforcement.” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: DHS Law Enforcement Experienced More Than 180 Vehicle Attacks Since President Trump Took Office – 2/3/26)
  • Doxing has also become a common practice used against ICE officers: “In a court filing [in December 2025], an ICE official said the agency was investigating ‘the open organization of people to impede immigration based investigations and operations’ posing ‘a serious threat to law enforcement officer safety.’” (The Washington Post: ICE and activists clash over doxing and privacy, in court and streets – 1/15/26)
  • When asked about ICE and Border Patrol agents and their families being exposed “to doxxing and threats to their safety,” Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) minimized the specific threats they’re facing and even vilified these law enforcement officers:

DEMOCRATS CONTINUE THEIR CAMPAIGN TO DEFUND LAW ENFORCEMENT BY SHUTTING DOWN THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

  • The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and critical cybersecurity agencies – is currently shut down thanks to Senate Democrats. (Fox News: DHS shutdown drags into 4th day as Senate Democrats block funding over ICE reforms – 2/17/26)
  • “Even though the department is shut down, a vast majority of its operations are still being carried out, with most of its personnel remaining on the job without pay, just as they did during last fall’s shutdown. But the longer the standoff lasts, the more travelers and others could feel its effects.” (The New York Times: What to Know About the Homeland Security Shutdown – 2/15/26)
  • Democrats’ shutdown is even impeding ongoing DHS investigations into its own conduct: “The partial government shutdown that went into effect Saturday is throwing the fate of oversight at the Department of Homeland Security into peril, with the department’s independent watchdog warning a lapse in funding could jeopardize several ongoing investigations.” (Politico: DHS watchdog warns shutdown could imperil immigration enforcement oversight – 2/15/26)
  • The bipartisan DHS appropriations bill that Democrats walked away from included funding for Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) that Capitol Police and law enforcement agencies around the country rely on – leaving it without critical funding. (U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations: Committee Releases Conferenced Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Bills – 1/20/26; U.S. Capitol Police: Training – accessed 2/18/26; U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers: About – accessed 2/18/26)
    • In addition to ICE, U.S. Capitol Police is experiencing a heightened threat environment as well: In 2025, the number of threat assessment cases “climbed for the third year in a row” for investigations into “concerning statements, behaviors, and communications directed against Members of Congress, their families, staff, and the Capitol Complex.”
    • This marked a 58% increase in threat assessment cases in 2025 (14,938) compared to 2024 (9,474). (U.S. Capitol Police: USCP Threat Assessment Cases for 2025 – 1/27/26)
  • Despite a good-faith offer from the White House to keep DHS funded with significant reforms, Senate Democrats flatly rejected it, opting to shut down the entire department instead. (Punchbowl News: AM: Dems review W.H. offer with shutdown looming – 2/12/26 ; The Hill’s Alex Bolton: post on X – 2/12/26)
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