Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,
Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Oct. 22 that a plan by Democrats to launch an online platform tracking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Los Angeles could endanger federal agents and expose them to harassment or violence.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif) said during an Oct. 21 press conference alongside Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass that Democrats on the House Oversight Committee will launch what Garcia called a “master ICE tracker.” The online database would allow the public to submit and review reports of ICE activity across the Los Angeles area, including videos and other data.
“Over the course of the next couple of weeks, the Oversight Committee will be launching on their website a master ICE tracker where we’re going to be essentially tracking every single instance that we can verify that the community will send,” Garcia said.
“You’ll be able to send us information on. It’ll be all available in one central place, and you’ll be able to look up that information as it relates to Los Angeles as well.”
Garcia described the initiative as part of a wide congressional investigation into alleged wrongful detentions by ICE under the Trump administration. Garcia also said he plans to hold a congressional field hearing in Los Angeles, where residents can testify about immigration enforcement concerns, calling it part of a broader inquiry into alleged civil rights violations by federal agents.
He has joined forces with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who is leading a parallel investigation through the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The two lawmakers recently sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding records on what they described as the unlawful detention of U.S. citizens and immigrants by ICE agents.
The ICE tracker project drew swift condemnation from Bondi, who said such tools could compromise law enforcement operations and fuel organized hostility toward immigration officers.
“Shutdown Democrats are already refusing to pay our law enforcement agents. Now, @RepRobertGarcia and @SenBlumenthal are trying to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs,” Bondi said in an Oct. 22 post on X.
“@TheJusticeDept has ZERO tolerance for violence against law enforcement—we will prosecute any person who physically assaults our agents.”
Border czar Tom Homan said recent heated rhetoric, along with efforts to expose the movements and identities of ICE agents, have already correlated with a surge in organized attacks on law enforcement personnel and facilities.
Protestors demonstrate against ICE operations while blocking the Sixth Street Bridge between Boyle Heights and the downtown area of Los Angeles, on July 1, 2025. Mario Tama/Getty Images
“Death threats, attacks up over 1,000 percent,” Homan said in a recent interview on The Alex Marlow Show, attributing the escalation to “hateful rhetoric” by some media figures and politicians who compare ICE to Nazis or the Gestapo.
He said the Department of Justice (DOJ) was already investigating the financing of organized groups that attack ICE agents and facilities in a coordinated way
“They will find out who is funding this, and they will be held accountable,” Homan said, adding that the riots are “absolutely organized.”
The DOJ under the Trump administration previously pressured Apple and Meta to remove apps and social media pages that tracked ICE operations. Apple deleted an app called ICEBlock earlier this month following a DOJ request, citing potential risks to agents’ safety.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) at the Capitol in Washington on April 1, 2025. Travis Gillmore/The Epoch Times
Garcia has defended his proposal, saying that the tracker would expose civil rights violations by immigration officers.
Citing a recent ProPublica report, he said at least 170 U.S. citizens had been wrongly detained by ICE agents.
“Why? Because they look like me, because they are of Latino origin, or because they are suspected to not be a U.S. citizen, or because they are suspected of crimes that they have not committed,” Garcia said on Oct. 21.
After Bondi’s social media warning, Garcia responded in an online post: “Hey @AGPamBondi, ICE detaining over 170 U.S. citizens is not them ‘just doing their jobs.’”
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin rejected the criticism. She told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the department “enforces federal immigration law without fear, favor, or prejudice.”
She said claims that ICE targets U.S. citizens or engages in racial profiling are “disgusting, reckless, and categorically false.”
McLaughlin added that assaults on ICE officers have risen by more than 1,000 percent amid “smears” from “sanctuary politicians,” and warned that anyone who obstructs or assaults law enforcement will face consequences.
She said that since June 6, ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have arrested more than 7,100 illegal immigrants in the Los Angeles area.
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