The Patriot Post® · This Weekend's Other ICE Storm

By Nate Jackson ·
https://patriotpost.us/articles/124490-this-weekends-other-ice-storm-2026-01-23

Much of the nation is deeply concerned about winter weather this weekend, but ICE is dominating the news coverage. Why? Because Leftmedia hysteria over the actions and tactics of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement helps Democrats and hurts the Bad Orange Man.

There are so many news ICEicles out there today, but I want to use those to better view the big picture, which is the Left’s tireless work to discredit everything President Donald Trump and his administration do. They don’t want to clean up ICE enforcement. They want to end ICE enforcement. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris opened the border, creating a humanitarian crisis, and now leftists say the real problem is cleaning up that mess.

I’ll start with pollaganda — the use of polls to steer rather than reflect public opinion. In the wake of what I think was the justifiable shooting death of Renee Good, numerous media outlets are blaring headlines to say something along the lines of “Americans think ICE is going too far.” Yes, I’m sorry Good is dead. But the Leftmedia coverage of it has not been fair or honest, and emotion, not evidence, is dictating much of the public’s response.

That said, our Mark Alexander rightly warned in early December that ICE already had an optics problem — and that was before Good’s death or a whistleblower’s claim that an ICE policy allows agents to enter the home of a suspected illegal alien without a warrant. If true, that’s a significant problem, though I’m reserving judgment because of the left-wing operation to discredit ICE.

Regardless of the truth or the Left’s lawless motivations, leftist agitators are successfully turning the public against ICE.

The latest example came yesterday. “ICE just detained a 5-year-old child,” Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Somalia) railed on X. “Don’t tell us this is about ‘the worst of the worst.’ That’s a lie. Absolutely vile.”

What a missed opportunity for Omar to plug one of those Somali daycares her Minneapolis constituents run. I hear there are lots of openings.

Sarcasm aside, the Department of Homeland Security says Omar is lying: “As agents approached … Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, [he] fled on foot — abandoning his child. For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias.”

That’s why both are in ICE custody, now in Texas. Leftists scream if children are separated from their parents, and they scream if a child is detained with his father. That’s because they’re screaming about enforcing immigration law, not about children. They certainly don’t raise much of a complaint about the human traffickers who abuse migrant children; only ICE receives their ire — for apprehending child sex offenders!

“Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children,” DHS added, “or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administrations’ immigration enforcement.” Furthermore, “Parents can take control of their departure and receive a free flight and $2,600 with the CBP Home app.”

Officials at the boy’s school claim that he was used “as bait” to lure his father out of his house. The Leftmedia bewails the “abhorrent” viral photo of the boy, though it looks totally innocuous to me.

Vice President JD Vance traveled to Minneapolis yesterday to address the broader situation and “bring down the temperature.” How did USA Today headline it? “Vice President Vance defends ICE detainment of 5-year-old in Minnesota.”

That was only one small part of Vance’s comments and purposes, but he did note, “If the argument is that you can’t arrest people who have violated the law because they have children, then every single parent is going to be completely given immunity from ever being the subject of law enforcement.”

That’s a fair point, but Conejo Arias’s attorney says, “These are not illegal aliens. They came properly and are pursuing a legal pathway.” That will need to be sorted out.

Vance also knew where to point a finger, saying, “Frankly, a lot of the media is lying about the job that [ICE agents] do every single day.”

As for the overall situation in Minnesota, Vance’s message was simple. Before he arrived, he said, “If you want to turn down the chaos in Minneapolis, stop fighting immigration enforcement and accept that we have to have a border in this country. It’s not that hard.” While there, he added, “The directive that I got from the president of the United States is ‘Meet these guys halfway.’ Work with them so that we can make these immigration enforcement operations successful without endangering our ICE officers, and so that we could turn down the chaos a little bit, at least. I think a lot, actually.”

Democrat Governor Tim Walz responded that he was “glad the Vice President agrees the temperature needs to be turned down, but actions speak louder than words.” His solution? “Take the show of force off the streets.”

Why is there a show of force? Because Minnesota is a sanctuary state where state and local officials don’t cooperate with federal officers. Why were Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey served with Justice Department subpoenas on Tuesday? For alleged conspiracy to obstruct federal law enforcement.

Meanwhile, some anti-ICE activists who stormed that church service on Sunday found out that doing so is a crime.

“We have arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, who allegedly played a key role in organizing the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” announced Attorney General Pam Bondi. Later, she added, “A second arrest has been made at my direction. Chauntyll Louisa Allen has been taken into custody.”

Given that the anti-ICE agitators filmed themselves violating the FACE Act, it’s hard to argue with the arrests. Armstrong tried, however, telling CNN, “We did not rush into that church. We actually went and sat down and participated in the service.” Is that what you call it?

Former CNN personality Don Lemon, who entered the church with the protesters and live-streamed their intimidating service interruption — definitely only for the sake of journalism! (wink, wink) — has not been arrested. Never mind, I guess, that Lemon is on video announcing his disruptive intent, noting that Armstrong began her agitating work after George Floyd’s death.

Lemon’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell of Hunter Biden infamy, says the DOJ is engaged in a “stunning and troubling effort to silence and punish a journalist.” A magistrate judge rejected charges against Lemon. That judge, by the way, is connected to the anti-ICE Democrat machine, which seems like a conflict of interest. According to Fox News’s Bill Melugin, “Multiple sources tell me & colleague [David Spunt] that the federal magistrate in Minnesota who refused to sign off on an arrest warrant for Don Lemon is Douglas L. Micko and that his wife works as an Assistant Attorney General in Minnesota AG Keith Ellison’s office.”

Whew, that’s a lot of news, but again, there’s a big picture.

Democrats, their Leftmedia propagandists, and their horde of left-wing agitators have a singular strategy: Discredit ICE and Trump by creating and filming confrontations with federal agents. Never mind that a lot of migrant criminals are in our nation illegally. Never mind that many of those criminals have victimized American citizens. Never mind the Rule of Law. The Left is waging a propaganda war against law enforcement.

ICE doesn’t always do everything perfectly, and there are definitely risks of overstepping. But those factors are exponentially increased when agitators provoke conflict. The ugly part is that’s exactly their strategy, even if it gets people killed.

Follow Nate Jackson on X.

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