Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents now have broader authority to charge people with crimes against federal property amid repeated rioting at immigration facilities.
The DHS enacted a rule on Wednesday titled “Protection of Federal Property” that allows more law enforcement action against rioters, the agency told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an exclusive statement. Officers guarding DHS buildings may arrest those wearing a mask while committing a crime, using “unmanned aircraft” such as drones to damage federal property, tampering with government tech systems, obstructing access, impeding federal employees from performing official duties, disorderly conduct and threatening to commit any violent crime.
DEEP DIVE: I went through numerous records and found a pattern — at least 11 people arrested at Portland’s riots this year have been arrested before, and still none of them are behind bars. @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/UsidjYvof5
— Hudson Crozier
(@Hudson_Crozier) October 28, 2025
(@Hudson_Crozier) “Under President [Donald] Trump and [Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, we will not tolerate violence perpetuated by Antifa and other domestic extremists who are targeting federal property and law enforcement,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told the DCNF. “Law and order will prevail.”
The Trump administration is enacting the new charging powers based on a federal law authorizing the DHS to protect “the buildings, grounds, and property” that belong to the federal government, according to the department. Under the new rule, DHS officers can bring charges regardless of where the crime occurred if it “affects federal property and the persons thereon,” the agency told the DCNF.
Officials initially scheduled the rule to take effect in January but sped up the process due to rising security threats, the DHS said.
“DHS is using every tool possible to protect the lives of our law enforcement as they face a surge in violence and lawlessness at many of our federal facilities,” McLaughlin told the DCNF. “We’ve seen rampant violence against law enforcement including our officers shot at, rammed by vehicles, assaulted and threatened.”
The DHS noted two shootings at Texas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in June and September, respectively, as examples. At least 21 people face charges in the July ambush at an Alvaredo facility, which nearly killed a local police officer who was shot in the neck, FOX 4 reported. The second shooting in Dallas left two migrant detainees dead, though the now-deceased gunman left behind writings indicating he was targeting ICE agents, authorities said.
Leftist protests at ICE facilities in cities such as Portland, Oregon, have also led to dozens of arrests after alleged assaults on federal officers and other violence since Trump returned to office. The president has announced plans to send National Guard troops to protect ICE in response to protesters.
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