Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna appeared on Fox News Tuesday to call out Democrats who use U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as an excuse to “race bait.”
Luna, on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” said the majority of ICE agents are Hispanic.
Democrats have pushed back against ICE agents, who have conducted raids and detained illegal migrants nationwide. A handful of lawmakers and officials were arrested and charged for allegedly retaliating. Democrats now want to ban federal agents from wearing masks. Watters, referring to COVID-19 mask mandates, told Luna how Democrats now want masks off “for the first time in six years.”
“Yes, exactly to your point. These are the same Democrat politicians that force people to wear masks, otherwise they couldn’t see their loved ones passing away in hospitals or getting married. I think it’s completely hypocritical,” Luna said. “But, look, the same Democrat politicians that are trying to say that ICE is all Anglo-Americans, they’re completely false.”
On Tuesday, Democrat California State Sen. Scott Wiener introduced legislation seeking to ban law enforcement from covering their faces when working in public, along with requiring them to wear identifying information. The push from Democrats to crack down on agents comes as the Trump administration has ramped up ICE raids in sanctuary cities throughout the United States.
WATCH:
In footage from some of the arrests, agents can be seen wearing masks. This, after border czar Tom Homan said assaults and doxing against these federal employees are ramping up. (RELATED: ICE Arrests Democratic NYC Mayoral Candidate After He Assaults Agents, DHS Says)
“ICE is actually predominantly 50% Hispanic,” Luna said. “So, really, what they’re doing is they’re using these policies to race-bait Americans into thinking that this is somehow Hispanic versus white when, in actuality, it’s not. Hispanic Americans support these policies as well, and they’re trying to effectively dox Hispanic ICE workers and Border Patrol agents, which is completely unacceptable.”
According to 2023 fiscal year data, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employs 199,635 people. ICE operates under DHS. Of the total DHS workforce, 51.7% are white, with Hispanics making up the largest minority at 22.8%, and Black employees account for 16.7%. When combining all minorities employed by DHS, the total sits at 48.3%.
Data from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shows that of the estimated 20,337 border patrol agents, 50.9% are Hispanic while 43.9% are white.
While data does not break down ICE employee demographics by race, the agency has 22,007 full-time employees, according to DHS’ 2024 fiscal year budget overview.
ICE did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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