Vice President JD Vance didn’t mince words Thursday in Minneapolis, calling out what he said is widespread media dishonesty about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the agents tasked with enforcing federal immigration law.
Standing alongside ICE agents, Vance opened his remarks by praising their work and taking direct aim at the press.
“One of the things I learned is that the guys behind me are doing an incredible job,” Vance said. “And frankly, a lot of the media is lying about the job that they do every single day.”
Vance acknowledged that, as with any large organization, isolated incidents can occur. But he argued those incidents are routinely stripped of context and weaponized by ideological activists and sympathetic media outlets.
“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,” he said. “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.”
According to the vice president, ICE agents are increasingly being targeted not just politically, but personally.
“Because of a few very far-left agitators,” Vance continued, “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.”
While making clear that peaceful protest is a protected right, Vance issued a blunt warning to anyone who crosses the line into violence.
“Protest me. Protest our immigration policy, but do it peacefully,” he said. “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.”
Vance also relayed a recent incident he learned about during meetings with ICE agents and roundtable participants earlier in the day. According to the vice president, two off-duty ICE agents were harassed after being doxxed online while eating at a Minneapolis restaurant.
“A bunch of agitators showed up, locked the door, made them feel like they were in danger for their lives,” Vance said. Federal law enforcement ultimately had to intervene to defuse the situation and escort the agents to safety.
Vance placed blame squarely on “very frankly, far-left people,” as well as some elected state and local officials, whom he said have actively fostered an anti-ICE climate that puts officers at risk.
The Minneapolis remarks followed an earlier stop in Toledo, Ohio, as Vance continues to publicly defend immigration enforcement and draw a sharp contrast between the Trump administration’s approach and what it describes as years of deliberate sabotage by Democrats and their media allies.
