An arrest operation in Texas became violent on Tuesday after a twice-deported criminal alien and child predator allegedly resisted arrest and brutally assaulted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.
Walter Leonel Perez Rodriguez, a Salvadoran national aged 33, was arrested by ICE. During the confrontation, Rodriguez is alleged to have physically assaulted an ICE officer with a metal coffee cup, causing severe burns and a major gash on the officer’s face that required 13 stitches.
Rodriguez is a convicted criminal with a past in the United States, including convictions for sexually assaulting a child in January 2013, driving while intoxicated (DWI) in September 2014, and unlawful reentry in January 2020.
He had been ordered removed by an immigration judge and deported twice previously: on June 28, 2013, and on February 24, 2020, after illegally re-entering the country at least three times.
“This young officer’s life has forever been altered as a result of the continued hyper-politicization of routine law enforcement activities and spread of misinformation by the media, NGOs and other groups opposed to immigration enforcement in this country,” said Director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Houston Field Office.
Bradford chastised opponents of immigration enforcement, claiming they are encouraging dangerous people.
“Rather than take their issues up with Congress, they shift their rage at the brave men and women of ICE who are putting their lives on the line every day… By focusing on our officers and spreading false propaganda about how we accomplish our mission, they are emboldening dangerous illegal aliens like this child predator to physically resist arrest. This insanity has to stop before anyone else gets hurt.”
Following his most recent arrest, Rodriguez has been charged with illegal reentry and assaulting a federal officer.