The violent criminals ICE agents were attacked for arresting: gang members, drug traffickers, human smugglers, child abusers

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

Paid agitators and rioters, including those with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), attacked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers tasked with apprehending violent criminals off of the streets.

Over the weekend, ICE agents arrested 118 illegal foreign nationals, including five gang members and those with criminal histories of “alien smuggling,” assault, cruelty to children, domestic violence, drug trafficking and robbery.

They made the arrests as assaults against them increased by 413% due to several factors including sanctuary policies prohibiting local cooperation and Biden administration catch and release policies that facilitated releasing violent criminals into U.S. communities instead of detaining them for removal, authorities have explained to The Center Square.

“As rioters attacked federal ICE and law enforcement officers on the LA streets, Mayor Bass took the side of chaos and lawlessness over law enforcement,” acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said.

“Our brave officers were vastly outnumbered, as over 1,000 rioters surrounded and attacked a federal building. It took over two hours for the Los Angeles Police Department to respond, despite being called multiple times. The brave men and women of ICE were in Los Angeles arresting criminal illegal aliens including gang members, drug traffickers and those with a history of assault, cruelty to children, domestic violence, robbery, and smuggling.”

In response, President Donald Trump federalized the California National Guard.

The rioters and “sanctuary politicians are choosing to side with criminals over American victims,” DHS said.

Among those arrested were violent men all in the country illegally, according to ICE:

Vietnamese national Cuong Chanh Phan, convicted of second-degree murder;

Philippino Rolando Veneracion-Enriquez, whose criminal history includes burglary in Ontario, Calif.; sexual penetration with a foreign object with force and assault with intent to commit rape in Pomona, Calif.;

Mexican national Lionel Sanchez-Laguna, with a criminal history in Orange Calif. of discharging a firearm at an inhabited dwelling and vehicle; battery on spouse or cohabitant; willful cruelty to child; driving under the influence; assault with semi-automatic firearm; and personal use of a firearm;

Mexican national Armando Ordaz whose criminal history includes sexual battery and petty theft in Los Angeles and receiving known or stolen property in Norwalk, Calif.;

Francisco Sanchez-Arguelloa whose arrests include on grand theft larceny charges and possession of a prohibited weapon;

Ecuadoran Jose Gregorio Medranda Ortiz, whose criminal history includes conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine while on board a vessel in Tampa, Florida;

Mexican national Victor Mendoza-Aguilar whose criminal history in Pasadena includes a conviction for possessing unlawful paraphernalia; possessing controlled substances; assault with a deadly weapon, not firearm; obstructing a public officer;

Mexican national Delfino Aguilar-Martinez, whose criminal history includes assault with a deadly weapon with great bodily injury in Los Angeles;

Peruvian national Jose Cristobal Hernandez-Buitron, convicted of robbery;

Honduran national Jordan Mauricio Meza-Esquibel, whose criminal history includes arrests for distribution of heroin and cocaine and domestic violence;

Mexican national Jesus Alan Hernandez-Morales, whose criminal history includes conspiracy to transport an illegal alien in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

“Sanctuary politicians would do well to remember that impeding our efforts only endangers their communities, law enforcement officers, and the detainees they claim to support,” Lyons said.

In addition to prosecuting illegal foreign nationals, the Department of Justice is prosecuting those who assault federal agents or obstruct their efforts on felony charges.

On Saturday, federal agents arrested more than “a dozen agitators … who impeded agents in their ability to conduct law enforcement operations. We will continue to arrest anyone who interferes with federal law enforcement, U.S. Attorney Bilal Essayli said. He also posted their mug shots and names.

The FBI is also seeking information about a man who assaulted a federal officer and caused damage to government property in Los Angeles over the weekend. A reward of up to $50,000 has been offered for information leading to his identification, arrest and conviction.

“We will find him. We will charge him. Justice is coming,” Essayli said.

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