ICE and Israel Face the Same Dilemma

Victor Joecks on Feb 2, 2026

When you think about recent events in the Middle East, it's easier to understand what's happening in Minnesota.

There are significant parallels between the tactics of Hamas and pro-illegal immigrant agitators. Start with this. Both have no realistic way to achieve their objective through conventional means.

Despite the brutality of the Oct. 7 massacre, Hamas couldn't defeat Israel militarily. That's the reason it had to rely on a surprise attack. In response, Israel decimated Hamas's leadership.

President Donald Trump ran on deporting illegal immigrants, and voters gave him a resounding victory in 2024. Unlike most politicians, Trump is actually keeping his promises. Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, there's plenty of funding to deport illegal immigrants, too.

The proper way to counter this would be for pro-illegal immigrant activists to win an election or two. Then, they could change the law. But the left's commitment to democracy fades when its opponents are in power.

Outmatched in bullets and ballots, both groups have sought to use political pressure to achieve their aims. Putting their own people in danger is key to these efforts. Hamas hides its military infrastructure in and around hospitals and schools. Israel either avoids attacking legitimate military targets, or Hamas rushes out pictures of dead women and children.

Something similar is happening in Minnesota. Agitators are actively stalking U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and then physically trying to prevent federal agents from arresting illegal immigrants. Crowd control should be a job for local cops. But Minnesota politicians have prevented local police from coordinating with ICE. In December, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara even told residents to call the cops on ICE.

Federal agents are put in a no-win situation. Either they allow agitators to stop them from arresting a criminal illegal immigrant, or they must use physical force to arrest the agitators. At a minimum, that will produce ugly-looking videos. Twice when an agitator has resisted, things have turned deadly. Illegal immigration activists then promote out-of-context videos and lob vile accusations at federal agents.

In both situations, there is a disproportionate focus on the actions of one side. Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. Hamas brutalized hostages for months or years. Hamas used human shields. Yet, the propaganda press, many on the left and even some on the right, obsessively focused on any perceived misdeeds by Israeli forces.

The same is true in Minnesota and around the country. Last year, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called ICE a "modern-day Gestapo." Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner recently called ICE agents "wannabe Nazis" and vowed to "hunt you down." Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has said ICE's work would "essentially" turn the country into "Nazi Germany."

The propaganda press largely ignores incendiary rhetoric like this. They barely even report on the violence committed by illegal immigration sympathizers. In September, an anti-ICE gunman opened fire on an ICE field office in Dallas. Police believe he killed one detainee and injured two others. Pro-illegal immigration activists recently stormed a St. Paul church, terrifying children and disrupting the service. Recently, an anti-ICE agitator even reportedly bit off the finger of a federal agent.

But the propaganda press offers frame-by-frame scrutiny of agents who have to make split-second decisions when an agitator resists arrest.

These similarities show why it'd be a mistake for the Trump administration to capitulate in Minnesota. Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005. Gaza residents didn't thank Israel. They gave power to Hamas, setting the stage for the attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

If violence gives illegal immigration agitators a de facto veto over federal immigration law, that violence will spread.

Israel learned this lesson the hard way. ICE shouldn't have to.

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Victor Joecks is a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and host of the Sharpening Arrows podcast. Email him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or follow @victorjoecks on X. To find out more about Victor Joecks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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