Chicago February 18, 2025
As President Donald Trump tightens border security and ramps up deportation efforts, agents with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are facing alarming threats to their safety. According to Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, the cartels are fighting back as they lose business due to decreased border encounters.
“The cartels are not going to give up their business quietly,” Ries warned. This comes after CBP agents stopped wearing body cameras during field operations due to concerns that cartels could track them using a Bluetooth scanning app.
Threats to Agent Safety
- Cartels could use tracking information to harm or attack agents
- Agents are vulnerable to improvised explosive devices
- False claims of abuse against agents will be harder to dispute without camera evidence
Ries emphasized that the cameras played a crucial role in protecting agents from false accusations. Without them, agents will lack key evidence to defend themselves.
The situation has escalated to the point where Mexican cartels are reportedly using kamikaze drones and explosives to target Border Patrol agents ¹. The threat is real, and agents must be vigilant to ensure their safety. As the situation unfolds, one thing is clear: the stakes have never been higher for those protecting America’s borders.
