A dramatic standoff unfolded inside a Southern California surgical center when ICE agents chased a Honduran landscaper into the facility, allegedly without a warrant, triggering a confrontation with stunned clinic staff.
In a viral video from Tuesday’s incident, medical workers in scrubs can be seen physically shielding the man, who was crying and gasping for breath, while demanding agents show identification and legal grounds for detention.“Get your hands off of him. You don't even have a warrant. Let him go. You need to get out,” AP reported quoting a staff member.
Immigration advocate Javier Hernandez confirmed that ICE agents ultimately arrested the Honduran man, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
The man had been supporting his mother’s dialysis treatments back home. Hernandez cast doubt on ICE’s claim that the operation was targeted, noting that two of the man’s co-workers were also questioned until their legal status was verified. “There’s so many videos now that are out there. It's getting harder ... because the tactics are getting more violent,” AP quoted him saying.ICE has become more visible in migrant detentions, even arresting people at courts and workplaces. After two such incidents at parish properties, the San Bernardino bishop excused parishioners from Mass. DHS claimed agents were targeting two undocumented men in Ontario when one, a 30-year-old Honduran, fled into a surgery center. Officials accused staff of assaulting agents and obstructing the arrest.