HOUSTON, TX - Immigration and Customs Enforcement continued arresting violent illegal aliens this month, this time taking to the Lone Star State, where Walter Leonel Perez Rodriguez, a 33-year-old criminal alien and child predator from El Salvador, was nabbed on Nov. 4 in Houston.
Rodriguez, who was previously deported two times, resisted arrest and physically assaulted an ICE officer with a metal coffee cup, causing severe burns and a deep gash to the officer’s face, which required 13 stitches, according to a release from ICE.
“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 ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford.
He continued, “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 to defend our communities from foreign terrorists, gang members, and other violent criminal aliens who are in the country illegally. 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.”
According to the release, Rodriguez illegally entered the United States at least three times and was ordered removed by an immigration judge. He was deported on June 28, 2013, and Feb. 24, 2020.
While in the United States, he was convicted of sexually assaulting a child in January 2013, DWI in September 2014, and illegal reentry in January 2020. After the most recent arrest, he has been referred for prosecution for illegal reentry and assaulting a federal officer.
ICE asks for public assistance in identifying criminal aliens, transnational gang members, or foreign fugitives who they suspect are in the country illegally to contact ICE, calling the tip line at 1-866-347-2423. There is also an online tip form accessible via this link.
The operation came despite the continued government shutdown, spurred by Congressional Democrats voting no 14 times on a clean continuing resolution to fund the government, the same CR that passed several times with Democrat support under the Biden administration. That has left ICE agents and other essential government employees who are still working to do so without pay.
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin praised ICE personnel last week for continuing operations under challenging conditions.
“The shutdown has not stopped ICE from protecting American communities,” she said in a statement cited by Fox News Digital. “Seventy percent of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of crimes in the United States. Our officers remain committed to keeping the nation safe, regardless of political obstacles.”
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