By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

Assaults against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are up 1,153% in 11 months, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

As ICE officers continue to arrest the most violent criminals nationwide, U.S. citizens have increasingly obstructed their efforts, including physically attacking them and threatening to kill them, according to multiple reports nationwide. The most recent death-threat-related arrests were of a Virginia high school assistant principal and his brother.

Earlier this month, DHS and the Virginia Beach Police Department launched an investigation into brothers John Wilson Bennett and Mark Booth Bennett, after an off-duty Norfolk Virginia Police Department officer overheard them discussing plans to “kill police officers and ICE agents,” DHS said.

The brothers are U.S. citizens and Virginia residents.

The officer claims he overheard Mark Bennett tell his brother that he was “planning to meet with likeminded individuals in Las Vegas to purchase firearms with explosive rounds to carry out the attacks,” DHS said.

He was arrested at the Norfolk International Airport, where he was booked on a flight and scheduled to depart to Las Vegas, DHS said. His brother, John Bennett, was arrested in Virginia Beach on the same day. John Bennett is the assistant principal of Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach. He is still employed by the school; his photo and contact information are still on the school website. He is reportedly on leave, according to local news reports.

Both were charged with a state crime of one count of conspiracy to commit malicious wounding.

“It’s chilling that a human being, much less a child educator, would plot to ambush and kill ICE law enforcement officers – offering such specifics as to getting a high caliber rifle that would pierce the law enforcements’ bullet proof vests. Thanks to Homeland Security Investigations and our partners, these men are behind bars,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.

They weren’t behind bars for long and were released on a $25,000 bond, with GPS monitoring. They claimed they were “joking around” and the Las Vegas trip was preplanned to attend an F1 race, WAVY 10 News reported. Their next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23.

Law enforcement took the claims seriously, as assaults against ICE officers up now by 1,153% in just 11 months.

From Jan. 21 through Nov. 21, 2025, 238 assaults were reported against ICE officers, up from 19 reported during the same time-period last year, DHS said.

That’s an increase of 1,153%.

At the same time, the number of death threats made against ICE officers have increased by 8,000%, The Center Square reported.

ICE and U.S. Custom and Border Protection and Border Patrol officers have also experienced a surge of targeted vehicular attacks. Vehicular attacks against CBP and Border Patrol agents are up 58%; attacks against ICE officers are up by 1,300%, The Center Square reported.

DHS blames Democrats for increased violence and threats of violence.

“After months of Democrat politicians comparing ICE to Nazis, the gestapo, slave patrols, and even encouraging illegal aliens to resist arrest, our brave ICE law enforcement have been assaulted 238 times,” McLaughlin said. “Our law enforcement officers have had Molotov cocktails and rocks thrown at them, been shot at, had cars used as weapons against them, and been physically assaulted. Sanctuary politicians need to tone the rhetoric down before a law enforcement officer is killed. They should be thanking these brave law enforcement officers who risk their lives every single day to arrest pedophiles, rapists, murderers, gang members, and terrorists from our neighborhoods.”

Examples of assaults include hitting, spitting, kicking, biting, attempted strangulation, drive by shootings and cartel bounties, The Center Square reported.

Despite these threats, ICE officers are prioritizing arresting violent criminals, including those with removal orders from federal immigration judges. The overwhelming majority being arrested, 70%, have criminal convictions or pending charges, ICE says. The 70% figure excludes those wanted for violent crimes in other countries, including those with INTERPOL notices and human rights violators, among others, ICE says.

ICE is encouraging Americans to report suspicious criminal activity, threats against ICE officers and their family members, as well as doxxing, by calling 866-DHS-2-ICE or submitting a tip online.