The Department of Homeland Security called it ‘irresponsible and pathetic’ that the latest episode of Law & Order: SVU depicted Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers as villains.
The season premiere of the long-running show finds Captain Olivia Benson, played by Mariska Hargitay, trying to track down a rapist, but her key witness is a building superintendent named Jorge Ruiz, who is pursued by ICE.
Once Benson gets Ruiz into NYPD custody as a witness, ICE agents show up to police headquarters to arrest Ruiz, who previously admitted to NYPD officers that he’s been in the U.S. for 22 years illegally.
Benson tries to get her colleague to arrest Ruiz so that he can stay in NYPD custody – prompting the ICE agents to arrest Hargitay’s character for ‘obstructing this operation from the beginning.’
Throughout the episode, ICE agents are characterized as the bad guys, interfering with the Special Victims Unit’s rape prosecution.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin blasted the portrayal in a statement Tuesday to the Daily Mail.
‘Not even a week ago, our ICE law enforcement was shot up by a deranged lunatic who wanted to terrorize ICE and not even a week later Law and Order: SVU released an episode that further villainizes our brave ICE law enforcement,’ McLaughlin said.
‘NBC and Hollywood elites must stop fanning the flames of division,’ she added.
Thursday night’s season premier of Law & Order SVU portrayed Mariska Hargitay’s (left) character Olivia Benson getting arrested by ICE after she tried to keep an illegal immigrant named Jorge Ruiz (center) in NYPD custody so he could testify in a rape case
An ICE officer is seen arresting Mariska Hargitay’s Law & Order: SVU character in the season opener of the long-running series for ‘obstructing this operation from the beginning’
Law & Order: SVU is an NBC show.
‘Our ICE law enforcement work night and day to protect Americans, including by removing rapists and child molesters from America’s streets,’ she continued. ‘Our officers are facing a more than 1000% increase in assaults against them.’
‘This is irresponsible and pathetic,’ McLaughlin added.
The White House echoed the DHS spokesperson’s statement, telling the Daily Mail that the surge in ‘assaults’ against ICE agents is ‘because of dangerous, untrue smears from elected Democrats and the media.’
‘ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law, arrest criminal illegal aliens, and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism,’ White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. ‘Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals are simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens.’
Americans are politically split on how they view President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies, as the president came into office in January promising the country’s largest mass deportation.
The most recent Quinnipiac poll finds that a slight majority disapproves of Trump’s handling of immigration – with 55 percent disapproving and 41 percent approving.
When just Republicans were asked about Trump’s handling of immigration, 91 percent were supportive and just 7 percent expressed dissatisfaction.
On the other hand, when Democrats were asked about immigration, 94 percent disapproved of the job Trump has done so far, while just 4 percent approved.
Last week, investigators identified Joshua Jahn, 29, who opened fire on a Texas ICE facility before shooting and killing himself.
The spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security blasted NBC and Law & Order: SVU for portraying ICE agents (pictured) as the villains in Thursday night’s episode of the long-running series
No ICE officials were killed, but several detainees were shot.
FBI Director Kash Patel said that while the investigation was ongoing, ‘an initial review of the evidence shows an ideological motive behind the attack.’
‘These despicable, politically motivated attacks against law enforcement are not a one-off,’ Patel said.
Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance have condemned ‘left-wing’ violence, especially in the wake of conservative Turning Point USA head Charlie Kirk’s death.
It comes several months after a Democratic state lawmaker, her husband and the couple’s dog were gunned down in their home in the Minneapolis suburbs.
