There may be credible intelligence that members of Mexican drug cartels have provided a “tiered” bounty system for hits in opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Safety (CBP) officers, based on the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS).
Two weeks in the past, the Justice Division charged a member of the Chicago-based Latin Kings with placing a bounty on Greg Bovino, the CBP Commander overseeing the surge operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland.
Drug cartels have “disseminated a structured bounty program to incentivize violence in opposition to federal personnel,” based on a press launch from DHS.
The federal company alleges cartels are providing $2,000 for intelligence gathering and doxing of brokers, $5,000–$10,000 for kidnapping or non-lethal assaults on normal ICE/CBP officers and as much as $50,000 for the assassination of high-ranking officers.
Gangs just like the Latin Kings have additionally deployed “spotters” armed with firearms and radio communications to supply the real-time actions of CBP and ICE brokers, based on DHS.
An officer carrying an ICE badge in Broadview, In poor health., Sept. 26, 2025.
Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu by way of Getty Pictures
“These prison networks aren’t simply resisting the rule of legislation, they’re waging an organized marketing campaign of terror in opposition to the courageous women and men who defend our borders and communities,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem stated in a press launch.
“Our brokers are dealing with ambushes, drone surveillance, and loss of life threats, all as a result of they dare to implement the legal guidelines handed by Congress,” Noem added. “We won’t again down from these threats, and each prison, terrorist, and unlawful alien will face American justice.”
The DHS report comes amid a authorized battle surrounding the deployment of Nationwide Guard troops to Chicago, partly, as safety for immigration enforcement officers and services.
Final week, District Choose April Perry quickly blocked the deployment of troops from any U.S. state into Illinois, a ruling that will likely be in impact for 14 days.
Within the resolution, Perry decided that there’s “no credible proof that there’s a hazard of rebel in Illinois” and no proof that the president is unable with the common forces to execute the legal guidelines of the U.S.
She stated that the deployment of the nationwide guard to Illinois “is more likely to result in civil unrest” requiring a response from native and state legislation enforcement.
Referencing what she known as the “provocative nature of ICE enforcement exercise” in Illinois, she stated, “I discover permitting the nationwide guard to deploy will solely add gas to the fireplace that they began.”
The DOJ appealed the ruling, however it was rejected by a federal appeals courtroom.
