Authorities probe ICE vehicle-ramming incident in New Jersey
Criminal defense attorney Josh Ritter and former NYPD Lt. Darrin Porcher discuss the New Jersey case in which an illegal alien allegedly rammed an ICE officer. They point to a reported 3,300% surge in vehicle attacks targeting law enforcement personnel.
Jose Garnica-Naranjo, 32, a Mexican citizen, was arrested one day after allegedly violently resisting a targeted immigration enforcement operation, the Department of Homeland Security said.
“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.”
Images provided to News Outlet appeared to show the ICE officer’s injured leg after the incident. (DHS)
ICE officers saw Garnica-Naranjo leave a home in Chicago Heights on Tuesday morning, according to DHS. They followed his vehicle from a distance before attempting to pull him over.
After approaching the car, officers ordered Garnica-Naranjo to shut off the engine. He allegedly refused.
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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 agents walk down a street during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago Jan. 26, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Authorities said Garnica-Naranjo then drove over a raised, tree-lined median, throwing the officer from the vehicle.
As Garnica-Naranjo fled, his car struck the injured officer, who was taken to a nearby hospital. The officer sustained contusions, cuts and scrapes to the legs, but medical testing found no broken bones.
ICE said Garnica-Naranjo’s criminal history includes previous convictions for domestic violence and assault.
Mullin attributed violence against immigration officers to statements from Democratic officials who have accused ICE of terrorizing neighborhoods during enforcement operations.
“This is the result of anti-ICE rhetoric from sanctuary politicians like Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker,” he 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.”
