White House border czar Tom Homan said that while he doesn’t like that federal immigration enforcement officers agents wear masks, he believes they need to wear masks to protect themselves against threats and violence.

“I don’t like the masks either,” Homan said in an interview with Ed O’Keefe on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday.

Homan said assaults against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have increased by 1,500% while threats against them have increased by 8,000%. The Department of Homeland Security said in a Jan. 26 news release that assaults against ICE officers had increased by more than 1,300%. Neither Homan nor the release gave a timeframe for that surge, nor did they give a source for the assault and threat claims.