Payam Javan: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said an illegal immigrant, Eduardo Aguilar, was arrested in Dallas on Oct. 14 after posting a Spanish-language TikTok video offering $10,000 bounties for the killing of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. Aguilar — who entered the United States illegally in 2018 as an unaccompanied minor and was ordered removed by an immigration judge in February 2019 — was found with a loaded 9mm handgun in his vehicle and has been charged federally for transmitting a threat in interstate or foreign commerce.

DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin praised law-enforcement for acting quickly and said Aguilar was taken into custody before he could harm any officers. The agency framed the arrest in the context of a broader campaign of threats against ICE personnel, saying agents face ambushes, terrorist attacks and death threats and vowing to pursue those responsible. The Epoch Times was unable to reach Aguilar’s legal representative, the report noted.

The DHS statement also accused Mexican cartels of placing bounties on ICE personnel and of issuing “explicit instructions” to monitor, harass, kidnap or kill agents — with offers reportedly ranging from $2,000 for intelligence gathering to as much as $50,000 for assassinating high-rank officials. DHS shared related social-media posts it said threatened officers and their families; the department and the Justice Department have opened several investigations and prosecutions in response to such threats.

Separately, the Justice Department announced that a federal grand jury last week charged two men for online threats against an ICE agent and his wife, underscoring heightened concern about violent rhetoric on social platforms. DHS has circulated audio and video evidence of threats and signaled continued coordination with federal prosecutors as it seeks to protect officers and hold offenders accountable.