Federal authorities arrested two staff members of a medical clinic in Ontario, California, Friday for allegedly interfering with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest earlier this month.
The altercation unfolded on July 8, when an illegal alien from Honduras ran into the Ontario Advanced Surgery Center while evading ICE agents, Fox News reported. Ontario is about 30 miles east of Los Angeles.
“ICE officers conducted a targeted enforcement operation to arrest two illegal aliens. Officers in clearly marked ICE bulletproof vests approached the illegal alien targets as they exited a vehicle,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted to X on July 9.
“One of the illegal aliens, Denis Guillen-Solis who is from Honduras, fled on foot to evade law enforcement. He ended up near the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center where hospital staff assaulted law enforcement and drug the officer and illegal alien into the facility. Then, the staff attempted to obstruct the arrest by locking the door, blocking law enforcement vehicles from moving, and even called the cops claiming there was a ‘kidnapping,’” DHS added.
A video of the incident shows one staffer demanding that the ICE officer leave. “This is a private property,” the individual said.
“Get your hands off of him,” another staffer said.
Contrary to initial media reports, Guillen-Solis, a landscaper, was not a patient at the facility.
Criminal warrants were issued for two of the staffers, Jose De Jesus Ortega and Danielle Nadine Davila, for allegedly “forcibility assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal officer involving physical contact” and “conspiring to prevent, by force and intimidation, a federal officer from discharging his duties.”
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents arrested Ortega Friday morning and caught up with Davila later Friday afternoon, Fox News’ Bill Melugin reported on X.
“My office has filed federal criminal charges against Jose de Jesus Ortega, 38, of Highland, and Danielle Nadine Davila, 33, of Corona, who are accused of assaulting and interfering with an ICE investigation earlier this month at a surgery center in San Bernardino County,” said Bill Essayli, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, in a statement posted on X, Friday.
“The media originally reported that the illegal alien was taken during a medical appointment. That was false,” Essayli noted. “The illegal alien arrested inside the surgery center was not a patient. He ran inside for cover and these defendants attempted to block his apprehension by assaulting our agents.”
The prosecutor added: “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you work, if you assault our agents or otherwise interfere with our operations, you will be arrested and charged with a federal crime.”
The criminal complaint accuses Davilla, reportedly a certified surgical technologist, of putting her hands on the ICE officer and wedging herself between him and Guillen-Solis.
The Democrat who represents Ontario, California, blasted ICE in a statement following the incident.
“It is devastating to watch the impact of ICE on our communities. This past Tuesday, Immigration Enforcement officers kidnapped constituents from a surgical center as they were doing their jobs,” said assemblywoman Michelle Rodriguez in a statement.
“While I support law enforcement officers who act with integrity and uphold the law, I will never condone these cruel and lawless actions. Without accountability, we are left with armed men in masks dragging people off the street – this is not safety, not justice, and this is not who we should be,” she stated.
According to Border Czar Tom Homan, ICE agents are facing an 830 percent increase in assaults since Trump came to office because of the “smears” of left-wing politicians.
“You put a hand on an ICE officer, you’re going to prison, you impede an ICE officer, you’re getting prosecuted,” Homan told the Daily Signal on July 18. “This ridiculousness is over.”