Todd M. Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, responded on Fox News to Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal’s warning that ICE agents who commit crimes in the city would be arrested, urging her to “try” and arguing that escalating rhetoric could endanger law enforcement.
On Saturday, Jan. 11, 2026, Todd M. Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), appeared on Fox News to respond to comments by Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal that had circulated widely online.
Bilal had described ICE agents as “made-up, fake, wanna-be law enforcement” and warned that officers who come into Philadelphia “wearing masks to commit crime” would face arrest. In her remarks, she also said ICE actions violate both “legal law” and “moral law,” and added: “You don’t want this smoke, because we’ll bring it to you. And the criminal in the White House will not keep you from going to jail.”
Lyons, speaking on Fox News’ The Big Weekend Show, criticized the idea of local officials moving against federal agents and challenged Bilal directly.
“You can’t pit a local law enforcement officer against a federal law enforcement officer … My message to the Sheriff is try it, try to arrest my folks. Let’s see what happens,” Lyons said. He added that “any time you pit law enforcement officers against law enforcement officers, it makes nobody safe,” describing ICE’s work as a lawful mission carried out under federal authority.
The Philadelphia Police Department also sought to draw jurisdictional lines after the comments spread. In a Jan. 9, 2026 post on X, Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel said the sheriff does not run city policing and indicated the department would continue working with “law enforcement partners.”
The dispute reflects a broader and long-running tension between federal immigration enforcement and local officials in cities that limit cooperation with ICE on civil immigration matters, even as local leaders say they will prosecute crimes committed in their jurisdictions regardless of who is involved.
