A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent suffered severe facial injuries during an immigration raid in Houston on Monday, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The incident occurred when Walter Leonel Perez Rodriguez, a 33-year-old Salvadoran national with a history of criminal activity, allegedly resisted arrest by assaulting an ICE officer with a metal coffee cup.
The DHS reported that Rodriguez sustained “deep gashes” and burns requiring 13 stitches after the confrontation. Officials described him as a “pedophile and criminal illegal alien” with prior convictions for sexual assault, child fondling, and multiple DUIs. He had illegally entered the U.S. at least three times and faced deportation in 2013 and 2020.
Bret Bradford, director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office, condemned the attack, stating it reflected “the continued hyper-politicization of routine law enforcement activities” and “misinformation by the media, NGOs, and other groups opposed to immigration enforcement.” He warned that such actions embolden individuals like Rodriguez to “physically resist arrest,” urging an end to what he called “this insanity” to prevent further harm.
Rodriguez was taken into custody and faces charges of illegal re-entry and assaulting a federal officer. The DHS emphasized that “anyone who lays a hand on our ICE officer will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
