With President Trump's intensified focus on border security and deportations, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are facing increasingly complex threats, according to border security expert Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Center.

Ries emphasizes that the cartels, experiencing a decline in business due to the lowest border encounters in decades, are unlikely to concede their operations without resistance. This heightened tension comes as CBP agents temporarily suspend the use of body cameras following a Reddit post highlighting the potential for tracking agents via Bluetooth technology. The post suggested using an app called BLE Radar, capable of detecting such devices within a 100-yard radius.

This image depicts President Trump and Border Patrol. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images and Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

While the tracking was purportedly intended to assist immigrants in identifying less secure border areas, it also exposed agents to potential dangers, including improvised explosive devices and targeted threats from cartels. The body cameras, previously instrumental in protecting agents against false accusations, are now temporarily sidelined, raising concerns about a potential increase in such claims. Ries anticipates a rise in abuse allegations due to the absence of camera footage.

This photo shows an ICE agent processing asylum seekers at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

Beyond technological vulnerabilities, Ries points to other threats, including warnings about potential cartel snipers targeting agents from across the border and past instances of cartels using drones for surveillance. Internal threats, such as leaks of ICE raid plans, also pose significant risks, potentially leading to ambushes and attacks on agents. Ries argues that these threats, both technological and strategic, are likely to persist as opponents of Trump's immigration policies seek to undermine his agenda.

Here, a U.S. Border Patrol agent searches for migrants near Sasabe, Arizona. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Addressing these challenges requires not only heightened awareness and strategic operational adjustments but also congressional support to ensure adequate funding for resources and equipment. Ries stresses the importance of technology, intelligence, personnel, and collaborative efforts in safeguarding agents, urging Congress to expedite the allocation of resources to CBP and ICE for effective deportation efforts.