"The men and women of ICE carry out their lawful duties every day, and should not be prevented from doing so simply because some individuals disagree with their mission," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. | Getty Sessions warns against obstructing border police

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a warning on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security, saying that regardless of what anyone thinks of Trump administration immigration policies, obstructing or abusing border and customs officials will not be tolerated.

"Free speech, assembly, and protest are and will be protected," Sessions said in a statement issued Saturday evening. "But obstructing law enforcement or committing other crimes will not be tolerated."


Tensions over the Trump administration's immigration policies — particularly those that have led to the separation of children from their families — have spilled over into the public treatment of everyone from Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to one of Sessions’ fellow Cabinet members.

Sessions' warning came after online activists threatened to dox ICE employees by attempting to publicly shame those who work for the agency and others vowed to use tactics similar to those of the occupy movement to grind immigration enforcement to a halt. According to Willamette Week in Oregon, ICE "temporarily halted" operations in Portland after protesters blocked the front entrance to a facility there.

"The men and women of ICE carry out their lawful duties every day, and should not be prevented from doing so simply because some individuals disagree with their mission," the attorney general continued.

CNN reported that the Homeland Security Department sent an email to its employees Saturday warning them about threats to their personal safety and reminding them of the security resources the department has available. The department's secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, had protesters surround her while she was eating dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Washington on Tuesday. On Friday, people demonstrated outside her home.

Although President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that appeared to at least temporarily halt the practice of separating families, he is showing no signs of moving away from immigration as a key issue, as was made clear during a appearance Saturday in Nevada and again Sunday morning.

"Democrats, fix the laws. Don’t RESIST," the president wrote on Twitter. "We are doing a far better job than Bush and Obama, but we need strength and security at the Border!"