A New Jersey immigration officer was severely injured when an illegal alien from Peru struck him with a van during a fugitive chase in Stafford Township, authorities said.
According to police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents attempted to arrest Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno, a resident of Peru who had been ordered to leave the country by the end of January, on Route 72 in the Manahawkin community around 9:30 a.m. Castillo-Ormeno fled in his van and struck an ICE officer, prompting the agent to fire his gun at the vehicle. The shot reportedly blew out the van’s back window.
A witness described the violent encounter in graphic detail: “They tell him to roll down his window; he’s inching forward, and you can tell it’s getting tense by his inching forward,” said Payton Johnson, a resident of Stafford Township. “As soon as he gunned it, you just see the front of the van pin the lower half of the officer’s body into the officer’s car… You just see the guy’s body just get twisted and mangled, and in that twist, he then pulled out his gun and shot at the van.”
Stafford Township Police stated they were not involved in the ICE operation but provided traffic management and crime scene security. The township’s police department noted that New Jersey’s Immigrant Trust Directive restricts local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration officers.
Sources confirmed the officer who was injured is expected to recover. The incident has been taken over by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for further investigation.
Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey said: “ICE agents put their lives on the line every day to enforce our nation’s laws and protect our communities. Yet too many politicians and activists continue to demonize them for doing the job they are sworn to do. This incident is a reminder of the dangers these brave men and women face. I am grateful the agent is expected to recover, and I will always stand with ICE and law enforcement.”
