Southwest
The truth about ICE: Inside the mission to track down criminals and protect communities
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
EXCLUSIVE— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents say misinformation and misleading videos are putting them at risk, fueling public hostility and attacks on officers. Fox News Digital embedded with ICE teams in Dallas and Houston in September to see their work firsthand and separate fact from fiction about their mission.
Acting Assistant Field Office Director in the Houston field office, Tom Persad, told Fox News Digital during the ride-along that it is a “privilege to live in America.”
“I don’t think anyone wants to have criminals living in their community breaking in and robbing them, stealing from them, raping them, child predators, gangbangers. And if these people commit their crimes, they should go back to their home country. It’s a privilege to live here,” Persad said.
A Dallas assistant office field director, who Fox News Digital joined for the ride-along, emphasized that ICE has targeted individuals when conducting arrests.
DALLAS ICE AGENTS STRESS FOCUS ON CRIMINALS DURING RIDE-ALONG, DAY BEFORE SHOOTING
“We want to keep our community safe,” he continued. “Stop believing what people are posting as far as like ICE is out there conducting raids, ICE is just arresting anyone they see, or they’re profiling.”
Persad in Houston emphasized that the theory that ICE is conducting raids against one particular demographic is not true.
“It’s just not one specific community. It just depends on their – the criminality,” Persad said.
Fox News Digital rode along with the Houston team on Sept. 12. Persad said many protesters and critics of ICE do not understand how the agency operates and criticized media outlets for misrepresenting ICE’s work.
“I’m not going to say all media, but the majority of them don’t put out the whole story. They just put out part of it. So then the general public or even the communities, they just, they’re not… informed fully, so then they just make a rash decision, or a rash conclusion about what we’re doing,” Persad said.
INSIDE DALLAS ICE FACILITY IN AFTERMATH OF SNIPER ATTACK THAT KILLED TWO DETAINEES
He said this misinformation has real-world consequences.
“I feel if the media would actually tell the whole story, it would make everyone’s lives a lot easier doing this job, and also you don’t have these people resisting and running and fleeing and fighting and assaulting officers. Assaults have gone up dramatically in the last six to seven months.”
“Folks need to be better educated on as far as like our agency and what we do,” the Dallas officer emphasized.
During the Houston ride-along, agents arrested a Syrian citizen, a convicted child predator who was found to possess child sexual abuse materials in Harris County, Texas, and was admitted to the U.S. as a non-immigrant visitor but failed to return to his home country by the required date.
SURVEILLANCE VIDEO SHOWS DALLAS ICE AGENTS PROTECTING DETAINEES AS GUNFIRE RAINS DOWN ON FACILITY
Persad said following the arrest, “It’s not just the Hispanic community that we look at. We look at everybody. And it just depends on, the case today might come up with someone from Mexico. Tomorrow it might be someone from England, or Canada, or South America, or even Africa. We just don’t target one specific community.”
During the Dallas ride-along, agents arrested an illegal immigrant from Mexico with a long rap sheet of alleged crimes from his home country.
The individual ICE targeted that morning from Mexico had committed fraud while applying for status in the U.S., and had also faced allegations ranging from murder to money laundering that he hadn’t disclosed, according to the Dallas agent.
EXCLUSIVE: IMMIGRATION AGENT REVEALS ‘BIGGEST FEAR’ AFTER DEADLY ANTI-ICE SHOOTING
Agents also stressed the importance of respect and safety during operations.
“Communication is key. And I think for individuals that we encounter on a daily basis, if we stay professional, and we treat them with respect, we expect the same back, right? And for the most part, that’s what we get,” the Dallas agent said.
He continued, “Safety is going to be the number one concern, but also it’s not just our safety, it’s their safety as well. So it’s very important, I think, to have that professional communication and treating everyone the way they should be, right? We’re all human beings.”
The Dallas ride-along took place on Sept. 23. Just one day later, a gunman opened fire at the ICE field office in Dallas, authorities confirmed.
ICE officers are facing a surge in death threats and violent attacks as they carry out the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Statistics released by the Department of Homeland Security last month show that ICE officers are experiencing an 8,000% increase in death threats targeting ICE officers.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the threats come as officers “risk their lives every single day to remove the worst of the worst.”
“From bounties placed on their heads for their murders, threats to their families, stalking, and doxxing online, our officers are experiencing an unprecedented level of violence,” she said.
Fox News’ Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi and Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
Los Angeles, Ca
Victims sought after man allegedly points gun at passing cars in Santa Clarita Valley
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help finding witnesses after a man allegedly pointed a handgun at numerous passing cars in Castaic on June 18.
The man was allegedly seen pointing the gun at cars near Lake Hughes Road and Ridge Route Road between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The suspect was described as wearing a red shirt and black shorts.
-
Did you see this man pointing a handgun at numerous passing cars in the Santa Clarita Valley. (LASD)
Authorities provided a photo of the man seen running in the street while holding something in his left hand.
Anyone who may have witnessed the alleged assaults, is a victim of the incident or has information about the case is asked to call Detective Marinelli at (661) 260-4000 ext. 5618.
Southern California is enjoying a comfortable stretch of below-average temperatures that should continue through Father’s Day, but a strong heat wave is looming.
A significant warming trend will begin early next week before peaking Wednesday and Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
“Another one of those ridges of high pressure is expected to build in, with temperatures really heating up,” KTLA’s Kirk Hawkins said. “We’re looking at temperatures reaching triple digits in parts of the High Desert and Inland Empire as well.”
An extreme heat watch has been issued for parts of Los Angeles County, including Woodland Hills, Pomona, Pasadena, Santa Clarita and other areas, from Tuesday morning through Thursday evening.
Temperatures in those areas could range from the upper 80s to 100 degrees.
The Weather Service suggested the following actions:
- Continue to monitor the latest forecasts, as the amount of heating is still uncertain
- Adjust plans now to stay cool next week
- Check in with elderly neighbors and family members to ensure they are aware of the hot forecast
The high-pressure system is expected to weaken on Thursday, bringing cooler temperatures as we head into next weekend.
A 48-year-old man who led law enforcement on a dangerous pursuit lasting more than an hour is in custody in connection with the shooting deaths of a man and a woman at an upscale Pomona apartment complex Thursday, police announced.
Officers with the Pomona Police Department responded to the Monterey Station Apartments, located at 180 E. Monterey Ave., near North Garey Avenue, just before 3:30 p.m. on reports of a shooting, according to a department news release.
Police, along with responding Los Angeles County firefighters, found the two victims in a fourth-floor apartment.
Paramedics immediately began life-saving measures, but both victims were ultimately declared dead at the scene, investigators said.
Neighbors told KTLA’s Mary Beth McDade that the suspected shooter, Robert Galtman of Pomona, shot his girlfriend and another resident of the apartment complex.
“He shot the girl, that was the girlfriend,” one woman, a resident of the building who did not want to give her name, told KTLA. “I know them because he had tried to hit on me and told me the situation that she was beating him up and that she cheated on him with this guy, the one that was killed.”
Authorities were searching Galtman, who was believed to be in dark-colored sedan that fled the apartments northbound on Towne Avenue near Holt Avenue.
Just before 5 p.m., officers with the California Highway Patrol spotted his vehicle traveling northbound on the 5 Freeway, officials confirmed to KTLA. When officers attempted a traffic stop, he failed to yield and led authorities on a high-speed pursuit that lasted more than an hour.
During the pursuit, he made a U-turn on the freeway and headed southbound before exiting in Castaic and taking Lake Hughes Road through the hills toward the Antelope Valley.
Sky5 was over the dangerous chase as Galtman was seen tossing unknown items from the vehicle, including some type of liquid, swerving dangerously onto the shoulder and refusing to stop as at least four CHP units followed closely behind.
He initially dodged several spike strips deployed by officers, at one point driving on the shoulder in Lancaster before clipping one of the strips with the vehicle’s left side, causing both tires to deflate.
Still refusing to stop, Galtman continued at about 30 mph until a CHP officer accelerated and performed a PIT maneuver that spun the vehicle and disabled it.
He was quickly surrounded by officers with guns drawn but did not immediately comply.
Following law enforcement commands, Galtman exited the vehicle, surrendered and was taken into custody.
The identities of the two victims are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Authorities have not released a motive in the deadly shooting. The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact the Pomona Police Department’s Detective Bureau at 909-620-2085.
-
Science2 minutes agoHere’s why the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool went green so fast
-
Sports5 minutes agoShohei Ohtani out of Dodgers’ lineup vs. Orioles for birth of his second child
-
World17 minutes agoLebanese influencer organises World Cup event amid Israel’s attack on Leban
-
News39 minutes agoAir Force One, gifted to Trump from Qatar, arrives at Joint Base Andrews
-
New York2 hours agoVideo: Fans Show Up to the Parade in Their Best Knicks-Themed Attire
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoVictims sought after man allegedly points gun at passing cars in Santa Clarita Valley
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoBest barbershop in Metro Detroit: Finalists for this year’s Vote 4 The Best
-
San Francisco, CA3 hours agoHow to watch San Francisco Giants vs. Miami Marlins
