COLUMBUS, Ohio - Valley Congressman Mike Rulli has introduced legislation targeting people who attempt to interfere with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.

House Resolution 7846, otherwise known as the "Halo Act," would impose criminal penalties on "anyone interfering with, threatening or harassing" ICE agents while they are on duty.

According to a news release, the bill would establish a "25-foot halo" around agents, and criminal penalties would be imposed on those who remain within 25 feet of the agent after being verbally warned.

The bill defines harassment as "knowingly engag[ing] in a course of conduct directed at a Federal immigration enforcement officer that intentionally causes substantial emotional distress in that Federal immigration officer and serves no legitimate purpose."

According to the text of the bill, these penalties could be as severe as five years in prison.

"Our ICE agents and Federal immigration officers put themselves in harm's way every single day to enforce our laws and protect our communities. ... The Halo Act makes it crystal clear. If you try to intimidate or obstruct federal officers doing their job, there will be consequences," Rulli said.

21 News has reached out to Rulli's office with questions about this bill, specifically:

Who would determine what constitutes "harassment" and how it differs from "protest," which is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution? Rulli's office responded that his bill would mirror language in a similar Senate bill introduced by Senator Ashley Moody, which describes harassment as "to knowingly engage in a course of conduct directed at a Federal immigration enforcement officer that intentionally causes substantial emotional distress in that Federal immigration enforcement officer and serves no legitimate purpose." 

That bill does not define "legitimate purpose" or whether legal demonstration would fall under that classification. 

If that determination is to be made by either ICE agents or the Department of Homeland Security, who would hold them accountable, or would they always be taken strictly at their word? Rulli's office's response did not answer this question at all .

Where do Rulli's figures, cited in a news release from his office, come from that claim there has been an 8,000 percent increase in death threats and a 1,300 percent increase in assault against ICE agents, come from? The release states them as fact without attribution, but in response to our question, Rulli's office pointed to a news release citing those figures from the DHS. That news release does not cite any attribution for those figures. 

Tensions involving ICE and U.S. citizens have ramped up since January of 2026, which saw U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti fatally shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

This has prompted a nationwide response, with several gatherings protesting against ICE and its operations, including some here in the Valley in places like Warren and Lisbon.

Additionally, one man in North Bloomfield Township is facing charges for allegedly making threats against ICE through social media.