By Steve Neavling
Mexican drug cartels are allegedly offering cash rewards for attacks on U.S. immigration officers, according to new intelligence from the Department of Homeland Security.
In a statement Tuesday, DHS said cartels have created a “structured bounty program” encouraging violence against ICE and CBP personnel. The agency described a tiered system that includes $2,000 for identifying or exposing agents, $5,000 to $10,000 for kidnappings or assaults, and up to $50,000 for killing high-ranking officials.
Two weeks earlier, federal prosecutors charged a member of the Chicago-based Latin Kings with putting a bounty on CBP Commander Greg Bovino, who oversees operations in several major cities. DHS also said gangs are using armed spotters and radio systems to track agents in real time.
“These criminal networks are waging an organized campaign of terror against the brave men and women who protect our borders,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in the release, vowing to hold offenders accountable.
The warning comes amid a dispute over the Biden administration’s deployment of National Guard troops to assist immigration enforcement in Chicago. Last week, a federal judge temporarily blocked the move, saying there was no credible threat of rebellion and that sending troops could inflame tensions. The Justice Department appealed, but a higher court upheld the block while allowing federal control over the state’s Guard units to continue.
