A Mexican national is now facing federal charges of assault on a federal deportation officer following an incident in Austin, Texas, last week.
Federal prosecutors charged Hugo Baltazar-Ramirez, 23, with assaulting a federal deportation officer after he allegedly attempted to evade arrest and then got in a fight with the officer. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer stopped Baltazar-Ramirez’ vehicle after running a query on an immigration database. The incident took place along Highway 183 in Austin on Friday, Breitbart Texas reported.
Court records obtained by Breitbart Texas from the Department of Justice’s Western District of Texas stated that Baltazar-Ramirez attempted to escape apprehension after the deportation officer placed him under arrest for being unlawfully present in the United States. The officer caught up with the man after about a 200-yard foot pursuit. The criminal complaint states that Baltazar-Ramirez then fought with the officer.
During the struggle, the officer got one handcuff on the suspect but was unable to place the second hand in the restraint. Baltazar-Ramirez then got the upper hand on the officer and got on top of him. He allegedly began striking the officer’s head against the ground several times, causing injury that would require medical attention.
About this time, another officer arrived and assisted the deportation officer in gaining control of the suspect. Baltazar-Ramirez was arrested and placed in handcuffs.
An ambulance was dispatched to the scene and transported the injured officer to St. David’s Emergency Room for the treatment of his injuries sustained in the altercation.
The criminal complaint states that Baltazar-Ramirez now faces charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding the federal deportation officer.
The incident occurred during an ICE enforcement operation where ICE agents arrested 51 criminal aliens in the Austin area. Among the 51 rounded up by ICE agents on Thursday and Friday were 16 convicted criminals. Those included a Mexican national previously deported following a conviction for aggravated assault; a Salvadoran national who pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child; and another Mexican national convicted of domestic violence as a repeat offender, information obtained by Breitbart Texas from ICE officials revealed.
ICE officials emphasized statements made over the weekend that this was a focused effort–similar to operations carried out last year where federal immigration officers arrested more than 2,000 criminal aliens during Operation Cross Check.
“These are existing, established fugitive operations teams,” the officials wrote. “ICE does not conduct sweeps, checkpoints or raids that target aliens indiscriminately.”
Many of the arrested aliens will face prosecution for illegal reentry after removal, a felony offense. Those not facing new charges will be processed for removal unless an immigration judge has already issued an order of removal on the individual.
Officials stated it is not uncommon, during an operation like this, that other illegal aliens will come into contact with ICE agents making other arrests. In those cases, officials will evaluate the individual’s circumstances on a case-by-case basis.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.