Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons on Saturday publicly challenged Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal to follow through on her warning that she would arrest federal immigration agents who enter her city and “commit a crime.”

Lyons made the remarks during an appearance on The Big Weekend Show on Fox News, after the network aired a clip of Bilal’s comments from a press conference earlier in the week.

Bilal’s statements came Thursday, one day after a fatal encounter involving an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Authorities said 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed after blocking traffic and appearing to strike an ICE officer with her SUV. She was shot multiple times.

At the Philadelphia press conference, Bilal referred to ICE as “fake, made-up law enforcement,” warned “you don’t want this smoke,” and said her department would act against any ICE agents who “commit a crime” in her jurisdiction.

Responding on Fox News, Lyons slammed the rhetoric, saying it endangered officers on both sides.

“Any time you pit law enforcement officers against law enforcement officers, it makes nobody safe,” Lyons said. He added that increasingly aggressive language from critics of ICE was making it harder for agents to safely carry out their duties.

Lyons then directly addressed Bilal, saying, “I’m not one for big banter or bluster, but my message to the sheriff is: try it. Try [and] arrest my folks and see what happens.”

Later in the interview, Lyons said he did not want to preempt any announcements from Donald Trump, but indicated that ICE would deploy additional agents to assist with operations in Minneapolis.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

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