An illegal migrant fled from ICE during a traffic stop in Oklahoma City, dragging an officer for nearly a block in the latest assault on federal immigration agents, authorities said.
The chaos unfolded when feds were attempting to nab Jose Melgar-Rivas, a Honduran citizen, on Tuesday after he was already given a deportation order, according to charging documents.
But Melgar-Rivas refused to get out of his van and instead hit the gas, speeding away so fast that one of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers was “unable to escape,” the docs state.
The officer was dragged down the street while wedged inside the partially open door and sustained gnarly bruises and scrapes, according to photos shared on X by ICE on Thursday.
The feds collared Rivas several hours later, according to the US Attorney’s office. He’s charged with resisting, assaulting and impeding a federal officer.
“This is just one of the hundreds of cases across the country of these individuals that have been ordered deported or have committed crimes in the United States, yet ICE is demonized because we’re effectuating the law,” acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Fox & Friends Thursday.
ICE has reported an 830% increase in assaults on agents, with recent incidents involving rioters hurling rocks, throwing molotov cocktails, and shooting at officers, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Last month, the feds nabbed an illegal immigrant sex offender who dragged an ICE officer 50 yards with his car in Bloomington, Minnesota, while trying to run from them, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
