ICE head says he will not block brokers from carrying masks, confirms use of Medicaid information
Washington — In an unique interview, Todd Lyons, the appearing director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, instructed CBS Information he isn’t a “proponent” of brokers carrying masks throughout arrest operations, however mentioned he’ll permit the apply to proceed as a consequence of issues about his officers’ security.
He additionally confirmed ICE plans to make use of information from authorities packages like Medicaid to find immigrants suspected of dwelling within the U.S. illegally, together with these with prison histories.
Pressed on issues about masked ICE officers and the chance that imposters may exploit the apply by posing as immigration brokers, Lyons mentioned, “That is considered one of our largest issues. And I’ve mentioned it publicly earlier than, I am not a proponent of the masks.”
“Nonetheless, if that is a software that the women and men of ICE to maintain themselves and their household protected, then I’ll permit it,” Lyons mentioned throughout his first tv community sit-down interview at ICE headquarters in Washington. “I do sort of push again on the criticism that they do not establish themselves.”
Requested if he’ll permit ICE personnel to put on masks, Lyons mentioned, “I’ll.”
Extra of the interview with Lyons will air on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday, July 20, at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Lyons cited the rise in assaults confronted by brokers at ICE, the company on the middle of President Trump’s promise of finishing up the most important deportation operation in American historical past.
The Division of Homeland Safety has mentioned assaults towards ICE officers have elevated by greater than 800% this 12 months in comparison with the identical time interval in 2024. Quite a few cases of violence directed at ICE brokers and services have occurred in current weeks, together with an armed assault towards a detention middle in Texas earlier this month that has led to greater than a dozen arrests.
Lyons agreed the rise in assaults confronted by ICE brokers may very well be partially attributed to the dramatic growth in immigration arrests below the second Trump administration, acknowledging that the company is “extra seen in the neighborhood.”
However he argued his brokers are being pressured to enter communities extra typically to arrest people dwelling within the U.S. illegally, together with these with prison information, as a result of extra cities and states have adopted “sanctuary” insurance policies that restrict native legislation enforcement cooperation with ICE. These insurance policies lead many jurisdictions to chorus from notifying ICE after they launch inmates who’re additionally within the U.S. illegally.
“So you’re seeing us out extra, and I believe there may be extra of a rigidity,” Lyons added. “The immigration mission is among the forefront of this administration, so it’s lots of scrutiny and publicity to it.”
Lyons says Medicaid information shall be used to “find” these within the U.S. illegally
CBS Information additionally requested Lyons a few report from the Related Press that an inter-agency settlement had granted ICE entry to the non-public data of thousands and thousands of Medicaid enrollees, together with names, addresses, Social Safety numbers and information on sufferers’ race and ethnicity.
Lyons mentioned ICE is “working with all of our different federal companions to attempt to acquire intelligence, to find these people which were ordered deported by a choose or have been launched from a sanctuary jurisdiction like we talked about. That’s what ICE is utilizing that information for.”
He cited the “many” so-called “got-ways” who entered the U.S. illegally with out getting caught below the Biden administration and “simply completely disappeared off the grid.”
Lyons advised ICE would use totally different datasets, together with from the Departments of Labor and Well being and Human Providers, to find the “worst of the worst” and people ordered deported from the U.S.
