‘Will Be Brought To Their Knees’: Kristi Noem Responds To Bounties Targeting ICE Agents

Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday that Mexican cartels and domestic extremist groups have placed bounties on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents amid an uptick in ambush-style attacks.

DHS said Chicago street gangs, including the Latin Kings and factions operating in the Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods, have deployed armed “spotters” to rooftops with radios to track agents’ movements in real time. The coordinated surveillance has triggered “ambushes and disruptions” during recent raids and enforcement actions. (RELATED: DHS Calls Out Media ‘Smears’ After Illegal Aliens Allegedly Ram Border Patrol Car)

Noem said she and President Donald Trump’s team have been “effective in dismantling cartel operations in America that these criminal networks are now placing bounties on the heads of our agents.”

PORTLAND, OREGON – OCTOBER 12: Federal agents clash with anti-I.C.E. protesters at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on October 12, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images)

DHS said the cartels established a tiered bounty system, offering $2,000 for intelligence gathering or doxxing agents — including photos and family details — $5,000 to $10,000 for kidnappings or other nonlethal assaults, and as much as $50,000 for assassinating senior officials.

“Their campaign of terror against the brave men and women who protect our homeland will be crushed, and these cartel members will be brought to their knees,” Noem said. “President Trump and I have the backs of every member of law enforcement across our nation.”

The department also cited activity in Portland and Chicago, where Antifa-aligned groups have allegedly aided these efforts by supplying protesters, exposing agents’ identities, and obstructing enforcement operations involving cartel-linked suspects.

“These criminal networks are not just resisting the rule of law; they are waging an organized campaign of terror against the brave men and women who protect our borders and communities,” Noem said. “Our agents are facing ambushes, drone surveillance, and death threats, all because they dare to enforce the laws passed by Congress. We will not back down from these threats, and every criminal, terrorist, and illegal alien will face American justice.”

DHS urged state and local officials to end policies that “embolden criminals,” including sanctuary protections, and called on the public to report any suspicious activity to federal authorities.