The “stupid people” who attacked Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Texas deserve a long jail sentence, President Donald Trump said Wednesday.
When asked whether ICE and Customs and Border Protection agents enforcing his mass deportation operation are under threat from a left-wing militia, Trump said the attackers are well-funded.
“You have some very stupid people on the Left who have some money that are making it available to these people,” Trump said. “You look at the guns they had, they were brand new, you look at even the clothing they were wearing, it looked like it just came out of some military shop. So you have some very stupid people that — if anything ever happened, they’d be the first to go.”‘
Eleven people are facing charges over a “planned ambush” that led to an officer being shot outside an ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, last week, federal officials announced Monday.
Just before 11 p.m. on July 4, officers arrived outside the ICE Prairieland Detention Facility after a report of a suspicious person. Alvarado police noted that when one police officer engaged with the person, an unknown number of people across the street opened fire. One bullet struck an officer in the neck.
During his remarks, Trump surmised that “there is money being put behind” the people who staged the attack. If found guilty, he said the people involved should face a “very stiff” penalty.
Ten suspects were charged with three counts of attempted murder of a federal officer and three counts of discharging a firearm in relation to a violent crime. An 11th person was charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to attempt to conceal and destroy evidence.
During the same press conference, Trump was asked about a bill sponsored by Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) that would require ICE agents to show their faces and display clearly visible identification during interactions with the public.
“They wouldn’t be saying that if they didn’t hate our country, and they obviously do,” Trump said of the senators, adding that he was surprised that they pushed the bill. “These officers are doing a tremendous job; they are great patriots.”
Trump argued that officers and their families would be put in danger if their faces were visible, contrasting it to the masked protesters who have incited violence or destruction.
.@POTUS: When they picket in front of Harvard wearing masks, nobody complains — but when a patriot who works for ICE wears a mask so they won’t be targeted, they have a problem.
“This is the problem with the Democrats — they have a lot of bad things going on in their heads.” pic.twitter.com/qMX4UNLWYH
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 9, 2025
“This is the problem with the Democrats — they have a lot of bad things going on in their heads,” Trump said.
TRUMP SENDS NEW ROUND OF LETTERS ANNOUNCING TARIFFS ON SEVEN NATIONS
Padilla, who famously confronted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in his home state, argued that the bill is a commonsense measure that preserves accountability.
“When federal immigration agents show up and pull someone off the street in plainclothes with their face obscured and no visible identification, it only escalates tensions and spreads fear while shielding federal agents from basic accountability,” Padilla said while announcing the bill. “Immigration agents should be required to display their agency and name or badge number, just like police and other local law enforcement agencies.”