Federal agents detain a man after his court hearing in immigration court at the Ted Weiss Federal Building in July in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/TNS)

We share the concerns of many Americans about the aggressive tactics of federal immigration agents around the country. However, recent attacks on federal and local officers that appear tied to immigration enforcement border on terror and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent.

While many of us watched with horror as the death toll in Central Texas mounted after catastrophic floods, a group of people ambushed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Alvarado. Authorities said the arrestees vandalized vehicles on site and shot firecrackers into the facility to draw out corrections officers. A local police officer who responded to the scene was shot in the neck. We are grateful the officer wasn’t killed.

Federal prosecutors said 10 people face charges of attempted murder of a federal officer and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. An 11th person has been charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy.

According to authorities, a search revealed weapons and body armor as well as a flag saying “RESIST FASCISM” and flyers saying “FIGHT ICE TERROR WITH CLASS WAR!” and “FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS.” The attack on the Prairieland Detention Center appears to be politically motivated and, in our view, deserves investigation as potential terrorism.

Those of us who are frustrated or alarmed about the scope of the Trump administration’s immigration raids must unequivocally condemn violence against government workers and law enforcement. Not only is it criminal and morally reprehensible, but it also doesn’t help the cause of improving due process for undocumented people in detention. If anything, attacks like this one can sour attitudes against immigrants and their advocates.

Sadly, this wasn’t the only such incident in recent days. On Monday, a 27-year-old man fired his assault rifle into a Border Patrol facility in McAllen before authorities killed him. Three people were injured.

Many Americans have criticized federal immigration agents for covering their faces and badges while conducting arrests. They raise valid concerns about accountability and transparency, with members of the public being left to wonder who is conducting arrests and under what authority. But the recent attacks against federal agents might help them justify the practice of hiding faces and badges.

As we’ve written before, anti-government extremism is on the rise, and we must be on our guard, whether it’s coming from the political right or left. The latest assaults against federal officers overlapped with the ninth anniversary of the 2016 police ambush in downtown Dallas. An Army veteran who identified with Black nationalism ruthlessly murdered five police officers and injured others. Last summer, we lost another Dallas police officer to a shooter who followed the sovereign citizens movement.

This is the danger of cheap slogans like “resist fascism” and “fight the oligarchy” in the hands of extremists. Unprovoked violence will never be a noble act, and we must resist the lie that it can be.