Federal authorities arrested a staff member of a clinic in Ontario, California, for allegedly interfering with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest, while another remains at large.
Earlier this month, Honduran national Denis Guillen-Solis, a landscaper, allegedly left on foot to evade law enforcement and went inside the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center, where he was not a patient.
“This story is another example of a false narrative peddled by irresponsible members of the media in furtherance of a political agenda to delegitimize federal agents. The illegal alien arrested inside the medical center was not a patient and was not in any way affiliated with that location. He ran inside for cover and these medical workers attempted to block his apprehension by assaulting our agents,” U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli told Fox News in a statement.
“To be very clear, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you work, if you assault our agents or otherwise interfere with our operations, you will be arrested and charged with a federal crime,” Essayli continued.
The criminal warrants were signed off by U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym for two of the staffers, Jose De Jesus Ortega and Danielle Nadine Davila, for allegedly “forcibility assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal officer involving physical contact” and “conspiring to prevent, by force and intimidation, a federal officer from discharging his duties.”
Ortega was arrested on Friday morning, and Davila remains at large and is currently being sought by law enforcement.
On LinkedIn, Davilla is listed as a certified surgical technologist at the center, and is specifically said in the criminal complaint to have allegedly put her hands on the ICE officer and wedged herself between him and Guillen-Solis.
“ICE officers conducted a targeted enforcement operation to arrest two illegal aliens. Officers in clearly marked ICE bulletproof vests approached the illegal alien targets as they exited a vehicle,” the Department of Homeland Security posted to X on July 9.
“One of the illegal aliens, Denis Guillen-Solis who is from Honduras, fled on foot to evade law enforcement. He ended up near the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center where hospital staff assaulted law enforcement and drug the officer and illegal alien into the facility. Then, the staff attempted to obstruct the arrest by locking the door, blocking law enforcement vehicles from moving, and even called the cops claiming there was a ‘kidnapping,’” the post added.
“This is a private property,” one staffer in a video of the incident said, asking the ICE agent to leave.
“Get your hands off of him,” another staffer said.
California Democratic Assemblymember Michelle Rodriguez, who represents Ontario, spoke out against ICE after the incident.
“It is devastating to watch the impact of ICE on our communities. This past Tuesday, Immigration Enforcement officers kidnapped constituents from a surgical center as they were doing their jobs,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
“While I support law enforcement officers who act with integrity and uphold the law, I will never condone these cruel and lawless actions. Without accountability, we are left with armed men in masks dragging people off the street – this is not safety, not justice, and this is not who we should be,” she continued.
