Former CNN anchor Don Lemon is facing intense backlash after saying during a podcast appearance that black and brown people should legally arm themselves to resist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)— comments critics are calling inflammatory, dangerous, and potentially inciting violence against federal agents.
Appearing on The Left Hook podcast hosted by Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali, Lemon suggested that minorities should embrace their Second Amendment rights in preparation for confrontations with ICE, especially during immigration raids that he claimed violate due process.
“Black people, brown people of all stripes — whether you’re Indian-American or Mexican-American or whoever you are — go out in your place where you live and get a gun. Legally,” Lemon said.
“Because when you have people knocking on your door and taking you away without due process as a citizen, isn’t that what the Second Amendment was written for?”
Lemon Defends Minority Gun Ownership as a Civil Rights Measure
Lemon argued that arming oneself within the bounds of the law is a necessary step for minority communities to protect their rights, portraying ICE as a federal agency that often acts beyond constitutional limits.
“Nobody is illegal,” Lemon continued. “It is a misdemeanor to cross the border… These people are doing things that are illegal? That doesn’t give you the right to just disappear them.”
He framed the Second Amendment as a tool of empowerment for communities of color in the face of what he described as unchecked immigration enforcement.
But his remarks — made in the context of rising violence and political tension surrounding ICE operations — have drawn immediate condemnation from across the political spectrum.
Violent Incidents Already Plague ICE Operations
Lemon’s comments come amid a sharp rise in attacks against ICE personnel. According to an August release by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), assaults on ICE agents are up 1,000% year-over-year.
Some of the most serious recent incidents include:
- Chicago, Illinois: ICE agents were attacked during an enforcement operation when vehicles were rammed by assailants.
- Dallas, Texas: A gunman opened fire on an ICE office, killing two individuals before taking his own life.
- Broadview, Illinois: DHS reported multiple attacks on immigration enforcement agents. Chicago police reportedly did not intervene.
- Portland, Oregon: ICE buildings and agents have been frequent targets of violent protests, with demonstrators also attacking journalists and using lasers to attempt to blind federal officers and aircraft pilots.
- California: a July ICE raid on a marijuana farm turned deadly when an assailant opened fire on agents. The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for the shooter’s arrest.
Opponents of Lemon’s remarks say his call for arming against federal officers, even under the guise of legal self-defense, dangerously escalates tensions at a time when ICE agents are already under siege.
Progressive allies of Lemon pushed back on the criticism, arguing that he was merely reinforcing the constitutional right of all Americans — including minorities — to legally bear arms.
Legal and Logical Problems with Lemon’s Argument
Lemon’s core claim — “when you have people knocking on your door and taking you away without due process as a citizen, isn’t that what the Second Amendment was written for?” — is both legally and logically problematic. ICE, by definition, enforces immigration laws against noncitizens, so framing routine enforcement actions as occasions for citizens to take up arms misunderstands the agency’s role.
More importantly, legal gun ownership does not confer the right to shoot federal officers carrying out lawful duties; use of deadly force against law enforcement is a serious crime except in extremely narrow self-defense situations where there is an immediate threat to life. Simply obtaining a firearm and a carry license does not provide legal cover for attacking agents or interfering with lawful operations, and encouraging such behavior risks both criminal consequences and deadly outcomes.
A Broader National Debate
Lemon’s comments touch on a deeper cultural divide in America — one where support for gun rights collides with growing skepticism of federal law enforcement in progressive circles.
While conservatives have traditionally been the staunchest defenders of the Second Amendment, a growing number of left-leaning voices have begun to frame gun ownership as a tool for resisting perceived systemic injustice.
The Fallout
With ICE agents already facing unprecedented levels of hostility and the immigration debate raging on, Lemon’s comments are likely to further fuel political tensions as the 2026 campaign season heats up.
One thing is certain: in a nation already fractured over immigration and policing, Don Lemon’s remarks have poured gasoline on a fire that shows no sign of going out.
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A bigger lemon than the Batemobile.
THEY ARE NOT AMERICAN CITIZENS !
Oh, please..that is like all the Antifa and Black Panthers saying there folks should arm up to fight tyranny..Do they realize that what they consider the tyranny has been armed for Centuries and have a high %age of hunters? Soon as I see Lemon man up and armed I will believe it. The picture of him with Biden speaks volumes!
People like this idiot are eventually going to get somebody killed. ICE is only enforcing immigration laws and if the useless Biden Administration had not allowed millions of undocumented illegals into the country this enforcement would never have been required. On the flip side I think people are about fed up with this hostile talk and the idiots pushing it need to be careful what they push for.
See he wants Civil War 2
Lemon should STFU. I pray it never comes but a war between good and evil in this country will be lopsided. When millions of patriots decide enough with the liberal destruction of our country a little wimp like Lemon will cower and piss himself.