ICE’s terrifying assault spike turns out to be roughly one incident every other day, but agents still wear masks

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have spent months warning about a sharp rise in attacks against their agents. Throughout 2024 and into 2025, the agency reported increasingly alarming statistics about assaults on ICE personnel during their duties.

The numbers appeared to tell a troubling story. In April, the Department of Homeland Security said assaults against ICE officers had jumped 300%. By May, that figure had grown to 413%. In June, officials claimed the increase had reached 500%. As July began, ICE reported the spike had climbed to nearly 700%, as reported by The Washington Post, even as public opposition to ICE operations has grown.

However, when raw data was finally released this week, ICE’s terrifying assault spike turns out to be roughly one incident every other day. The actual numbers show 79 assaults against immigration enforcement agents occurred between January 21 and June 30, compared to 10 during the same period last year.

The reality behind the percentage increases

The focus on percentage growth rather than actual numbers had raised questions among analysts. As The Washington Post’s Philip Bump noted last month, percentage increases can be misleading without context. A 413% increase could mean assaults went from 200 to 1,026, or it could mean they went from eight to 41.

Bill Melugin of Fox News reported the new data on Tuesday after DHS provided him with the raw figures. The 79 assaults represent a significant increase from the previous year’s 10 incidents, but the absolute numbers paint a different picture than the dramatic percentages suggested.

While any assault on law enforcement is serious and should not happen, the average of roughly one assault every other day does not appear to constitute a crime wave targeting ICE agents specifically. The 79 incidents, though too high, represent a much smaller scale problem than the percentage increases might have implied.

The timing of this data release is notable because many ICE agents have been conducting raids while wearing masks to hide their identities, amid broader controversies about ICE operations and Democratic accusations of lying. Trump administration officials have defended this practice by pointing to the alleged violence ICE personnel face during their operations.

The mask-wearing policy has drawn attention as agents carry out enforcement actions across the country. Officials have cited officer safety concerns and the reported increase in assaults as justification for allowing agents to conceal their faces during operations.

With the release of actual numbers showing a more modest scale of incidents, the administration may need to reconsider its talking points about the threat level facing ICE agents. While 79 assaults in roughly five months is still concerning, it may not support the narrative of an overwhelming surge in violence against immigration enforcement personnel that the percentage figures seemed to suggest.