Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles announced criminal charges Friday against two staffers at a California clinic who were captured on video helping an illegal immigrant escape from ICE custody.
One woman in blue scrubs is seen using her body to force the masked officer, wearing clearly visible “police” markings on his uniform, to let go of the man.
The woman and another man in scrubs then use their bodies to block the agent from getting at the man, who authorities said was a migrant from Honduras.
Investigators said the incident happened at the Ontario Surgery Center. Two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officers were conducting roving patrols when they spotted a vehicle and followed it into the clinic’s parking lot.
Several men got out, and one began to urinate against the clinic wall, investigators said. When the officers approached, the urinating man stayed, but the other two fled — including one the officers declared the Honduran “target alien.”
That man, who wasn’t identified in the criminal complaint, fled into the clinic where the encounter took place. The ICE officer eventually called for his partner, who, after initially being locked out of the clinic, was admitted. They then arrested the immigrant.
The arrest had sparked an online debate, with ICE critics saying the agency targeted a man inside a clinic.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the new details provided by investigators puncture that narrative and show the man wasn’t connected to the clinic.
“The media attempted to demonize ICE agents by saying that our agents were arresting individuals inside a medical center—but that is completely false,” she said.
She said the arrests of the two clinic workers were justified, given their interference.
“Anyone who actively obstructs or assaults law enforcement, including U.S. citizens, will face consequences which include arrest,” she said.
Homeland Security Investigations identified the clinic staffers as Jose de Jesus Ortega and Danielle Nadine Davila.
The Washington Times has sought comment from the clinic, where the phones immediately went to an after-hours message Friday afternoon.
During the video, one woman is heard shouting “identify yourself” at the officer and questioning whether he really is police. Another says, “Get your hands off of him.”
“You need to go. You can’t even identify yourself,” says the man authorities have identified as Mr. Ortega.
Those comments reflect the rhetoric coming from ICE critics who accuse the agency of overzealous enforcement of immigration laws.
A federal judge ruled earlier this month that ICE’s roving patrols in the Los Angeles area were illegal because officers didn’t have a constitutional reason to suspect many of the people they were targeting for arrest.
The Trump administration has appealed that decision.