A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer was seriously injured Monday in Houston while arresting a Salvadoran national on charges of violent crimes, according to officials.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that the officer was struck in the face with a metal coffee cup by twice-deported Leonel Perez Rodriguez.

ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARMED WITH KNIFE, CRACK PIPE IN HOUSTON PARKING LOT

The ICE officer allegedly suffered injuries including severe burns and a deep laceration on his face which needed 13 stitches.

The incident happened when ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers tried to detain Rodriguez, 33, after his most recent reentry into the U.S.

Authorities said Rodriguez has since been referred for federal prosecution for illegal reentry and assaulting a federal officer.

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Per the release, Rodriguez’s criminal record includes a conviction for sexual assault of a child under 17, multiple DUIs and repeated illegal entries into the U.S.

He was deported in 2013 and again in 2020 after serving prison time for his offenses.

“This young officer’s life has forever been altered as a result of the continued hyper-politicization of routine law enforcement activities and spread of misinformation by the media, NGOs, and other groups opposed to immigration enforcement,” said Bret Bradford, ICE’s Houston Field Office Director.

ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARMED WITH KNIFE, CRACK PIPE IN HOUSTON PARKING LOT

“By focusing on our officers and spreading false propaganda about how we accomplish our mission, they are emboldening dangerous illegal aliens like this child predator to physically resist arrest. This insanity has to stop before anyone else gets hurt.”

The assault comes as ICE moves forward with its operations nationwide amid what DHS officials have called “the Democrats’ longest government shutdown in American history.”

Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin praised ICE personnel Thursday for maintaining operations under challenging conditions.

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“The shutdown has not stopped ICE from protecting American communities,” she said in a statement.

“Seventy percent of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of crimes in the United States. Our officers remain committed to keeping the nation safe, regardless of political obstacles.”

FIRST ON FOX: ICE said federal agents captured members of a South American theft ring believed to be in the U.S. illegally who attacked families in a series of violent armed break-ins across Texas.

According to the agency, the group targeted small business owners across the Lone Star State.

In one incident, video obtained by FOX News shows two masked men holding handguns chasing a screaming resident around his house. The victim was seen being hit by the suspects.

Four suspects have been federally indicted in connection with the break-ins, and two have been convicted.

ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARMED WITH KNIFE, CRACK PIPE IN HOUSTON PARKING LOT

The group is believed to be members of the South American Theft Group (SATG), an organized network of foreign nationals, primarily from South America, who travel throughout the U.S. targeting wealthy homes and businesses by committing burglaries and thefts, according to ICE.

The members, ICE stated, use encrypted messaging apps, burner phones and pre-surveillance of neighborhoods to identify and target victims. Items stolen include high-value jewelry, luxury watches and cash.

ICE said most members of the group are in the U.S. illegally or remain in the country on expired visas.

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One man involved, 38-year-old Joel Hallynson Espinal-Cantareo, is an illegal migrant from Honduras who was convicted and sentenced in September to more than 11 years in federal prison for interference with interstate commerce by robbery, according to ICE. His federal sentence will run consecutively to pending state cases.

Espinal-Cantareo was involved in at least three armed home invasions at residences in Irving, Cedar Hill and Frisco, investigators said. In those incidents, business owners were pistol-whipped, zip-tied and forced to hand over cash and valuable items.

“This 11-year sentence sends a clear message that violent crime and threats to public safety will not be tolerated,” Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard said in a statement. “Espinal-Cantareo’s actions affected small businesses and endangered lives. This significant sentence reflects the seriousness of those crimes. ICE will continue to work closely with our federal, state and local partners to protect our communities and bring violent offenders to justice.”

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Three suspects were indicted after HSI presented the federal case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sherman. A fourth suspect, who was prosecuted separately by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, has since been convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Two other cases are still pending, according to ICE.

ICE said it has issued an immigration detainer to ensure Espinal-Cantareo is transferred to federal immigration custody when he finishes his federal sentence. The agency said it will pursue his deportation following his release from federal custody.

While resisting arrest, a pedophile, twice-removed illegal immigrant in Houston, assaulted an ICE officer, resulting in a severe laceration and burns on his face, according to a statement by the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS said that during an operation on Monday in Houston, a Salvadoran illegal immigrant named Walter Leonel Perez Rodriguez “brutally beat” an ICE officer with a metal coffee cup, resulting in the injuries.

The agency said the officer suffered burns to the side of his face and a severe laceration to his mouth, resulting in 13 stitches.

This comes as Homeland Security law enforcement officers are facing a 1,000% increase in assaults in the line of duty, according to the agency.

ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARMED WITH KNIFE, CRACK PIPE IN HOUSTON PARKING LOT

According to DHS, Perez Rodriguez first entered the U.S. at an unknown date and location without inspection over 15 years ago. An immigration judge issued a removal order against Perez Rodriguez on June 11, 2013, and he was removed that same month. However, he re-entered the country illegally at an unknown time and was again removed by ICE on Feb. 24, 2020.

Besides repeat illegal re-entry, which is a felony, DHS said that Perez Rodriguez has a criminal record that includes a conviction for a sexual assault of a child under 17 years old, child fondling and multiple DUIs.

The agency said he is now in ICE custody and “can no longer pose a threat to Americans.”

Commenting on the incident, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that “This repeated criminal illegal alien is about to find out the hard way that there’s a new sheriff in town—and under President Trump and Secretary Noem, anyone who lays a hand on our ICE officers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

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She decried the rise in assaults against federal law enforcement, saying, “Our brave ICE officers are facing record-high assaults” as “they lock up pedophiles and other depraved criminals to keep American families safe.”

This comes shortly after ICE and other federal and Texas officials carried out a massive 10-day operation in Houston that resulted in over 1,500 arrests, including of aggravated felons, gang members, sexual predators, a murderer and others.

In a Wednesday statement, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Field Office Director Bret Bradford announced that “despite the conditions becoming increasingly dangerous for our officers as a result of the spread of violent political rhetoric and intentionally false information,” agents arrested 1,505 illegal aliens in a southeast Texas operation that ran Oct. 22-31.

Bradford said the arrests of gang members, child predators and other violent criminals “prevented countless Houstonians from having to suffer from the nightmares and PTSD that come with being a victim of violent crime.”

In total, the October operation resulted in the arrests of 17 documented gang members, 40 aggravated felons, one convicted murderer and 13 sexual predators, according to the ICE statement. Offenses committed by those arrested included 115 aggravated assaults, 142 DWIs, 55 drug offenses and 31 weapons offenses. The agency also said that 255 of those arrested had been previously deported from the U.S. at least once.

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Nearly one-third of those arrested have been ordered removed from the U.S. by an immigration judge, according to ICE.

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ICE has carried out several large-scale enforcement operations in the Houston area this year, including one in August that resulted in 822 arrests and another in February and March that led to 543 arrests.