SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — An immigration raid in Mission Bay turned into a violent confrontation Tuesday morning. Federal agents arrested five undocumented immigrants, one of whom they say is a member of a violent transnational criminal organization.
The incident unfolded Tuesday morning before 9 a.m. along east Mission Bay Drive. ICE released a statement Tuesday evening stating during one of the arrests, a member of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua resisted arrest.
Law enforcement says the person kicked a special agent in the chest and bit an officer in the forearm. Authorities were still able to arrest that individual and four other undocumented immigrants.
Speaking in Spanish, the man's sister told ABC 10News, "When I got, here they showed me a video where they were hitting him and they were slamming him against the ground and they were grabbing him very hard and he said to help him, to help him but obviously how do we help, how do we help, how do we help someone like that if they are the law, no?"
Contrary to what ICE reported, that woman also told ABC 10News her brother does not have any arrest warrants in the United States or in Venezuela, where he's from.
A mobile home was seen towed from the scene hours later.
ABC 10News spoke with a different person who lives in an RV parked in that area. It's unclear if that man lived in the RV that was towed away, but he described, in Spanish, the moments that led to this incident.
"Last night, the cops came," he said. "In my case, they said that if I don’t move they were going to tow the car. I said please don’t because this is my house where I live. I was trying to find a mechanic to move it and they still gave me a ticket. That was at 4 in the morning. Today, at 7, 8, came the cops and they went to all the trailers banging on the doors.”
It's unclear if there's a connection between that incident and Tuesday morning's ICE raid.
ABC 10News did reach out to the San Diego Police Department, who was on scene during the immigration enforcement operation. They said the only role they played was traffic control, and said they were not involved in any other way.
Meanwhile, ICE released the following statement: "Let it be clear: physical assaults on federal officers will not be tolerated under any circumstances. These acts not only endanger the lives of law enforcement personnel, but they also undermine public safety and the rule of law. ICE remains steadfast in its mission to enforce federal immigration law with professionalism, accountability, and respect for the communities we serve."
The agency said it has presented charges for assault on a federal law enforcement officer to the US Attorney's Office.
