Top GOP senator gets inside look at ICE’s dangerous mission as agents battle surge in assaults

EXCLUSIVE: Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn rode along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Volunteer State on Friday as she touted new legislation to penalize those who dox federal law enforcement.

During Blackburn’s ride-along in Rutherford County, a suburban and rural area just outside of Nashville, ICE officers were “targeting” an illegal immigrant convicted of child sexual abuse, according to her office.

“You really don’t appreciate the amount of work that goes into apprehensions and deportations until you speak with the men and women who are working so hard behind the scenes every single day and see the risks they take firsthand. As ICE officers face a 500% increase in assaults against them, we owe these agents a debt of gratitude for all that they do to keep us safe,” Blackburn said in a statement.

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“Lawless, left-wing politicians are fueling the surge in assaults against law enforcement officers who risk their lives to keep our communities safe. In stark contrast, President Trump and his administration are standing up for law-abiding citizens over criminal illegal aliens by empowering ICE agents to do their jobs,” she added.

Tennessee, particularly the city of Nashville, has become a flash point in the illegal immigration discussion.

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, a Democrat, has opposed the Trump administration’s immigration policies. He recently faced backlash for the names of federal officers being released in a public report, which resulted in doxxing accusations.

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“I wouldn’t say it was an endangerment process. I would say they may have some concerns — I’m far more concerned about the overall dynamic we have about unmarked, unidentifiable masked people whisking people into vehicles — I think that’s a bigger concern,” O’Connell said last week at a press conference.

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He is currently under investigation by GOP House lawmakers, including Nashville-area Rep. Andy Ogles, for potentially interfering with federal immigration efforts.

“It’s not a process that I would characterize as doxxing. It was an unintentional release of names that were already part of a public record,” O’Connell added at the time. 

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“They were already part of a public record by being in the Department of Emergency Communication’s calls, so I don’t think it puts them at additional risk. But it’s also not an intention of the executive order under which those names are released,” he added.

Blackburn introduced the “Protecting Law Enforcement from Doxxing Act” earlier this month to make it illegal to release the name of a federal officer if there was an intention to “obstruct” criminal or immigration proceedings, which was a direct response to the O’Connell controversy and the recent 500% spike in assaults on ICE agents, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Besides the mayor, a recent hit-and-run case allegedly perpetrated by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant in Nashville made national waves, as the suspect is still at large. 

Fox News’ Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.