By Naveen Athrappully
Contributing Writer
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was hospitalized after getting ambushed and attacked with a shovel by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, according to a late-night post on X Wednesday from the Department of Homeland Security.
The incident happened in Minneapolis as federal law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted traffic stop of the illegal immigrant, who according to the DHS was released into the country in 2022.
“In an attempt to evade arrest, the subject fled the scene in his vehicle and crashed into a parked car,” said the post, after which he fled on foot. When the law enforcement officer caught up to him, he began to violently assault the officer, along with two other subjects who emerged out of a nearby apartment.
During the struggle, the attackers used a snow shovel and broom handle.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” hitting the initial subject in the leg, and resulting in the attackers scrambling back into the apartment.
The officer and the subject were both hospitalized, with the other attackers in custody, the DHS said.
Attacks on federal law enforcement officers have increased considerably. ICE personnel have faced more than a 1,300% increase in assaults and a 3,200% increase in vehicular attacks during the second Trump administration’s first year, according to figures released on Jan. 8 by the DHS.
The department blames “radical rhetoric by sanctuary politicians” for the surge in attacks against federal law enforcement. There was also an 8,000% increase in death threats against the officers.
Operation in Minnesota
ICE’s Operation Metro Surge, which was launched in December, is currently ongoing in Minnesota, targeting criminal illegal immigrants in the region.
“We’ve arrested over 2,500 criminal illegal aliens in Minnesota since starting this operation with DHS,” ICE Director Todd M. Lyons said in a Wednesday statement. “We’re picking up the worst of the worst offenders, and as these cases come in, we’re finding that a significant number of the aliens we arrest — in addition to having serious criminal histories in the U.S. and abroad — are part of dangerous gangs that terrorize communities all over the nation.”
Some of the criminal illegal immigrant arrests reported recently by the DHS in Minnesota include a Salvadoran charged with assault and domestic violence; a Mexican whose rap sheet includes an arrest for domestic violence and convictions for four counts of disorderly conduct and illegal re-entry; a Spaniard convicted of felony distribution of a controlled substance; a Nigerian convicted of fraudulent impersonation; and a Thai convicted of domestic assault and who pleaded guilty to terroristic threats.
“These arrests occurred despite sanctuary politicians who RELEASE criminal illegal aliens directly from jail into Minnesota neighborhoods,” said the DHS in a post on X.
On Tuesday, the DHS called on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to honor ICE arrest detainers of more than 1,360 criminal illegal immigrants, including violent criminals, in the state’s custody.
“Since President Trump took office, Gov. Walz has refused to cooperate with ICE and released nearly 470 criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets of Minnesota,” the DHS stated.
An immigration detainer asks federal or local law enforcement to hold detained immigrants for an extra 48 hours before DHS officials can come and take them into DHS custody.
When local law enforcement refuses to honor detainer requests, ICE agents are forced to pursue the criminal within the community, increasing danger to the public as well as to the officers involved in the operation.
Meanwhile, the state of Minnesota filed a lawsuit against DHS on Monday, asking the court to end the federal enforcement operation in the area, saying it is “unconstitutional and unlawful.”
