Man Arrested After ICE Officer Is Dragged and Struck in Chicago Heights
Federal officials said Jose Garnica-Naranjo, 32, was arrested Wednesday, a day after an attempted immigration enforcement stop in Chicago Heights ended with an officer injured. Garnica-Naranjo is a Mexican citizen whose criminal record includes convictions for domestic violence and assault, according to ICE.
Officers followed his car after seeing him leave a home Tuesday morning, then tried to stop him. The Department of Homeland Security said officers told him to turn off the engine. When they tried to remove him from the car, he allegedly accelerated with an ICE officer partly inside through the driver-side window.
Authorities said Garnica-Naranjo drove over a raised, tree-planted median, throwing the officer from the vehicle. The car then struck the officer as he fled. The officer was taken to a hospital with leg contusions, cuts and scrapes; tests found no broken bones, and he was later released.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the officer had been hospitalized and described the incident as part of a rise in assaults against ICE officers. He cited an increase of more than 1,600%, and blamed anti-ICE rhetoric from Democratic officials, including Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. DHS called on Pritzker and other sanctuary officials to cooperate with ICE. Democrats have accused ICE of terrorizing neighborhoods during enforcement operations.
DHS Uses Chicago Heights Incident to Attack ICE Critics
An ICE officer was injured during an attempted arrest in Chicago Heights, and the incident quickly became a political weapon against critics of immigration enforcement. Federal officials say Jose Garnica-Naranjo, 32, fled in his car and struck the officer; he was arrested Wednesday.
The Department of Homeland Security says officers tried to stop Garnica-Naranjo on Tuesday and that he accelerated while an officer was partly inside the vehicle. The officer was thrown from the car after it crossed a raised median, then struck as the car fled. He was hospitalized with leg cuts, scrapes and contusions, but had no broken bones and was released.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin cited the case as evidence of increased assaults on ICE officers, claiming assaults had risen more than 1,600%. He blamed Democratic officials, including Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, for anti-ICE rhetoric and demanded cooperation from sanctuary officials.
Democrats have accused ICE of terrorizing neighborhoods during enforcement operations. Mullin’s response shifts attention from that dispute to political blame, even as the account describes an individual incident and allegations about one man’s conduct. ICE says Garnica-Naranjo has prior convictions for domestic violence and assault.
ICE Officer Injured as Suspect Fled Chicago Heights Stop
A man with prior convictions for domestic violence and assault was arrested after allegedly using his car to injure an ICE officer during an attempted stop in Chicago Heights. The officer was hospitalized, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the case illustrates the danger facing immigration officers.
Federal officials say ICE officers saw Jose Garnica-Naranjo, 32, leave a home Tuesday morning and later tried to stop his car. They allege he refused to turn off the engine, accelerated while an officer was partly inside through the driver-side window, and drove over a raised median. The officer was thrown from the vehicle and then struck as Garnica-Naranjo fled.
The officer suffered leg contusions, cuts and scrapes. Hospital tests found no broken bones, and he was later released. Garnica-Naranjo, a Mexican national, was arrested Wednesday.
Mullin said assaults on ICE officers had increased by more than 1,600% and blamed anti-ICE rhetoric from Democratic officials, including Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Democrats have accused ICE of terrorizing neighborhoods during operations; DHS says sanctuary officials should cooperate with the agency. The injury and arrest underscore the stakes of enforcement operations for officers in the field.
Reported by Fox News, New York Post.
