FILE PHOTO: A migrant and a legal observer lay on the floor as they are detained by federal immigration officers at U.S. immigration court in Manhattan, in New York City, U.S., June 6, 2025. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File Photo
President Donald Trump's interim head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement vowed to continue operations in Los Angeles despite escalating rhetoric, clashes and even death threats against his family.
That's according to Bill Melugin, national correspondent for Fox News based in Los Angeles, who said Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons doubled down on the administration's immigration crackdown.
"You always hear that elections have consequences, and I think if you look at the last presidential election, a majority of the American people voted for what ICE is doing," Lyons said.
Lyons also addressed concerns from politicians who have expressed concerns over targeting migrants who have no criminal record but who are in the country unlawfully.
“People forget that violating immigration law is a crime. If you're here in the country illegally, if you enter the country legally, you did commit a federal crime. And as a law enforcement agency, we won't walk away from those crimes," Lyons said.
He added that he has received multiple credible death threats against him and his family, Melugin noted, with their address doxxed. Lyons "sympathizes with his ICE officers who are being doxxed and threatened themselves, and he will continue to support them wearing masks, something he says ICE didn’t do until the threats started coming," Melugin wrote on X.
"Until the men and women of ICE can be sure that their safety and their family's safety, I'll make sure that they're allowed to do whatever steps they have to take to make sure their family is safe," said Lyons.