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Federal authorities suspect that Mexican criminal groups are financially backing a plot that involves cash incentives for the murder of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. These rewards allegedly escalate depending on the agent’s rank and actions.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed on Tuesday that the rumored bounty system offers $2,000 for gathering details or exposing information on agents — such as photos and family details — $5,000 to $10,000 for kidnapping or non-lethal attacks on standard immigration officers, and as much as $50,000 for killing high-ranking officials.
“Under President [Donald] Trump and [DHS Secretary Kristi Noem], every criminal, terrorist, and undocumented immigrant will confront American justice,” DHS stated in a post on X.
This announcement followed a report by the Washington Examiner, which uncovered that gangs in Chicago were being offered up to $50,000 to target high-ranking ICE officials.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents sort through lists of names, including details of their hearing times and locations inside the Federal Plaza courthouse before initiating arrests on June 27, 2025, in New York. (Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images)
According to the report, gang members in Chicago’s Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods have stationed armed “spotters” on rooftops to keep track of law enforcement movements.
“Communication is conducted via radio,” DEA officials alleged.
On Oct. 6, federal agents in Chicago arrested a suspected Latin Kings leader accused of offering payments to capture or kill a senior immigration officer involved in Operation Midway Blitz, a sweeping crackdown on those who sought refuge under the city’s sanctuary policies.
Juan Espinoza Martinez, a suspected Latin Kings leader, is accused of offering cash bounties to kill a federal immigration officer. Martinez was arrested on Oct. 6, 2025, in Chicago. (Department of Homeland Security)
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois unsealed a criminal complaint charging 37-year-old Juan Espinoza Martinez with one count of murder for hire. DHS identified the intended target as Commander at Large of the U.S. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino.
“Depraved individuals like Juan Espinoza Martinez — who do not value human life and threaten law enforcement — do NOT belong in this country,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a statement. “We will not allow criminal gangs to put hits on U.S. government officials and our law enforcement officers. Thanks to ICE and our federal law enforcement partners, this thug is off our streets and behind bars.”
Fox News Digital previously reported two illegal immigrants were arrested in Illinois for allegedly weaponizing their vehicles in “deliberate attempts to ram and injure” ICE officers, according to DHS.
Federal law enforcement agents break up protesters outside an immigrant processing center with a barrage of tear gas and pepper balls on September 27, 2025, in Broadview, Illinois. (Getty Images)
DHS announced on Oct. 3 federal agents had arrested more than 1,000 illegal immigrants in Illinois as part of Operation Midway Blitz.
The operation, led by ICE and Border Patrol, launched Sept. 8 in honor of Katie Abraham, killed in a drunk-driving hit-and-run crash in Illinois earlier this year allegedly caused by an illegal migrant from Guatemala.
The initiative was designed to take “the worst of the worst” off the streets of Chicago and other parts of the state, according to DHS.
DHS and the Mexican Embassy did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
