Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will deploy its Special Response Teams (SRTs) to Seattle and four other Democrat-run cities to address escalating violence or threats thereof, according to CBS News.

The tactical units participate in high-risk operations, suggesting the possibility of broader and more dangerous ICE raids in the Seattle area. They were recently utilized in Los Angeles to target violent criminal illegal immigrants.

Seattle isn’t alone in getting SRTs. Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, and Northern Virginia are also on the list.

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ICE deploying tactical agents as raid info is leaked

SRTs are not merely intended to protect ICE agents from the criminals they’re targeting.

ICE Seattle Field Office Director Cammilla Wamsley explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH that her office alerts local law enforcement agencies when her agents are targeting undocumented immigrants who are in the country illegally. The coordination is intended to cut down on surprises or any “blue-on-blue shooting.” However, she alleged that staff members at the Seattle Police Department (SPD) have leaked information about their raids to local media.

“We do have some situations with some local police agencies in which we struggle with that notification because it is leaked to the media as soon as we make those notifications,” Wamsley explained exclusively on “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. “And that endangers my workforce. It causes issues with the public. We’re trying to work through those concerns with our partners.”

There have also been instances in Chicago, where SRTs are also headed, where raids have been leaked.

SRTs ensure safety

Every leak increases the likelihood that activists learn of the raid and either mobilize at its location or tip off violent criminals that they’re about to be targeted. This could lead to agent injury or death.

Inspired by the riots and lawlessness in Los Angeles, Seattle activists, including Antifa, have been escalating their violence against federal agents.

On Tuesday, a group of radicals dressed in black bloc vandalized the federal building in downtown Seattle, burned American flags, and attempted to injure federal law enforcement officials. Seattle Police brass allowed the situation to escalate, leading to an assault of We Heart Seattle founder Andrea Suarez, who was on the scene to document the lawlessness.

Two people were arrested.

There is a larger event planned Wednesday evening at Cal Anderson Park, across the street from the East Precinct.

ICE and Trump administration wise to send in support to Seattle

Seattle officials repeatedly put progressive ideology and virtue signaling above public safety.

This isn’t complicated. ICE SRTs are necessary because Seattle’s political leadership continues failing at its most fundamental duty—protecting citizens from violent crime and enforcing the rule of law.

Rather than take a stand against violent criminal illegal immigrants, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and his political appointee, Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, have sought to placate radical Antifa activists who support open borders. Barnes even pretended he “will probably go to jail” under Trump (which actually suggests he would be willing to break the law because he’s a left-wing ideologue before he’s a member of law enforcement).

Deploying SRTs sends a clear message to Seattle. If local leaders won’t uphold their responsibilities, federal agencies must step in.

SRTs aren’t some oppressive occupying force from ICE; they’re a necessary response to politicians who have abandoned public safety for cheap political points. Seattle residents deserve protection—not appeasement politics and reckless endangerment.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.