Authorities investigate ICE ramming incident in New Jersey
Criminal defense attorney Josh Ritter and former NYPD Lt. Darrin Porcher weigh in on the New Jersey incident in which an illegal immigrant allegedly rammed an ICE agent. They point to a reported 3,300% surge in vehicle attacks targeting law enforcement officers.
A Mexican national with a prior criminal record was arrested Wednesday after allegedly dragging a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer with his vehicle while attempting to flee an arrest operation outside Chicago, federal officials said.
Jose Garnica-Naranjo, 32, was taken into custody one day after allegedly violently resisting a targeted immigration enforcement operation, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“This illegal alien used his vehicle to assault one of our ICE officers, hospitalizing the officer,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. “Thankfully, the officer has since been released from the hospital. This is just the latest example of the staggering rise in anti-ICE violence, with our officers facing a more than 1,600% increase in assaults against them.”
Photos provided to News Media reportedly show the ICE officer’s injured leg after the incident. (DHS)
ICE officers saw Garnica leave a residence in Chicago Heights on Tuesday morning. According to DHS, officers followed his vehicle from a distance before trying to conduct a traffic stop.
When officers reached the vehicle, they ordered Garnica to shut off the engine. He allegedly refused to follow their instructions.
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“When officers attempted to remove him from the vehicle, Garnica accelerated and fled while an ERO Chicago officer was partially inside the vehicle through the driver-side window,” DHS said in a statement.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE agents walk down a street during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago, Ill., on Jan. 26, 2025. An ICE officer was allegedly dragged by a car driven by an illegal immigrant in a Chicago suburb this week, injuring him. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Authorities said Garnica then drove over a raised, tree-lined median, throwing the officer from the vehicle.
As Garnica continued fleeing, his car struck the injured officer, who was taken to a nearby hospital. The officer sustained leg contusions, cuts and scrapes, but medical tests found no broken bones.
ICE said Garnica’s criminal history includes previous convictions for domestic violence and assault.
Mullin blamed rhetoric from Democratic elected officials for contributing to violence against immigration officers. Those officials have accused ICE of terrorizing communities during enforcement operations.
“This is the result of anti-ICE rhetoric from sanctuary politicians like Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker,” Mullin said. “DHS is calling on Governor Pritzker and all other sanctuary politicians to knock off this violent rhetoric and start cooperating with ICE before any more officers are injured in the line of duty.”