Why the ICE Shooting Was Justified and How Political Rhetoric Is Putting Lives at Risk

In a recent interview on One America News Network, Mark Lamb, retired Arizona Sheriff and Republican candidate for U.S. Congress, joined host Matt Gaetz to address a deadly incident involving an ICE officer and a woman who attempted to interfere with a federal enforcement action.

While the discussion was originally intended to focus on developments in Arizona and the Supreme Court, the conversation quickly turned to the shooting. Sheriff Lamb did not hedge his words.

From a law enforcement perspective, he made it clear. The shooting was justified.

Watch The Entire Interview

A Law Enforcement Reality the Media Ignores

Sheriff Lamb explained that ICE agents were carrying out duties assigned to them by Congress and the federal government. They were lawfully enforcing immigration laws. According to Lamb, the individuals who confronted the agents were not neutral bystanders. They were activists who deliberately inserted themselves into an active federal operation.

What escalated the situation was not ICE. It was the decision by one individual to use a vehicle as a weapon.

As Lamb outlined, when a vehicle is placed in motion toward an officer, it becomes a lethal threat. Officers do not have the luxury of waiting to see if the driver will stop. In that moment, the agent had a clear and reasonable fear for his life and physical safety.

Under established use-of-force standards, lethal force was legally justified.

Vehicles as Weapons and Split-Second Decisions

Lamb walked viewers through what likely went through the agent’s mind.

An unknown driver.
An unknown vehicle.
An emotionally charged scene.
An individual blocking a street and actively condemning ICE.
A vehicle put into drive with an officer standing in front of it.

Those facts matter.

Law enforcement officers are trained to recognize that vehicles can cause permanent injury or death in seconds. Lamb emphasized that the threshold for lethal force is not certainty of death. It is reasonable fear of serious bodily harm or death.

That threshold was met.

While Lamb expressed sorrow over the loss of life and sympathy for the woman’s family, he underscored a fundamental truth. The agent had every right to go home safely to his own family after doing his job.

Political Leaders Fueling Dangerous Confrontations

The conversation then turned to the role of political leaders, particularly local and state officials who have publicly demonized ICE and called for resistance to federal immigration enforcement.

Lamb warned that this rhetoric is not abstract. It has real-world consequences.

When mayors and governors frame ICE agents as villains, they encourage confrontation. They embolden activists to interfere with enforcement actions. And they create volatile situations where someone gets hurt or killed.

Peaceful assembly is protected under the Constitution. Violent obstruction is not.

Lamb reminded viewers that the First Amendment protects peaceful assembly to petition the government. It does not protect attempts to run over federal agents.

Paid Agitators and Manufactured Chaos

Sheriff Lamb also addressed a reality many Americans suspect but few politicians admit. Many of these confrontations are not organic. They are organized.

According to Lamb, activist groups are paying agitators to show up, disrupt ICE operations, and provoke conflict. The goal is not justice. The goal is chaos, headlines, and intimidation.

Americans, he argued, are reaching a breaking point.

People want law enforcement to enforce the law.
They want illegal activity addressed.
They want agents protected, not vilified.

Supremacy Clause and the Rule of Law

Lamb closed by reinforcing the constitutional framework that governs federal enforcement actions.

Under the Supremacy Clause, federal agents operating within their lawful authority are protected from state interference. Any attempt by state officials to undermine or punish ICE agents for doing their jobs will fail under constitutional scrutiny.

The law is clear.
The authority is clear.
The responsibility lies with Congress.

Leadership Rooted in Experience

This interview highlighted what separates Mark Lamb from career politicians.

He has worn the badge.
He has made life-and-death decisions.
He understands the consequences of reckless rhetoric.

As a candidate for Congress, Lamb is running on a platform of restoring the rule of law, defending law enforcement, and putting public safety ahead of political theater.

At a time when federal agents are under attack for simply doing their jobs, Lamb’s voice is one of clarity, experience, and resolve.

Mark Lamb is not guessing. He knows.