Border officials say the attack bolsters President Donald Trump’s claims that the U.S.-Mexico border is more lawless than official statistics indicate.
In a display of force aimed at increasing arrests and generating publicity, the administration targeted the nation’s largest city, where sanctuary policies limit cooperation with ICE.
The demotion of top two officials in ICE’s enforcement division comes as officers scramble to ramp up the number of immigration arrests and deportations.
Trump has called for a wartime effort to increase deportations, but ICE statistics show arrests have averaged about 325 per day this month, down from about 800 per day in late January.
Wildlife trafficking is the fourth-largest source of illicit revenue globally after drugs, human smuggling and counterfeit goods, according to Homeland Security Investigations.