Tren de Aragua Gang Member and Illegal Immigrant Attacks ICE, FBI Agents

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) arrested an illegal immigrant and Tren de Aragua gang member who “violently attacked” special agents from the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency said in a June 20 statement.

On June 18, an operation to arrest Gabriel Hurtado-Cariaco was launched in Bellevue, Nebraska. The operation was led by ICE Homeland Security Investigations Omaha. While law enforcement attempted to take Hurtado into custody, he allegedly launched a “brutal and premeditated assault” on an ICE agent.

“During the attack, the illegal alien threw the ICE agent to the ground, slammed her head into the pavement, ripped off her body armor, and made repeated and physical violent contact,” DHS said.

The perpetrator also assaulted an FBI agent during the incident, federal authorities said.

After the attack, the illegal immigrant fled the scene; however, ICE and partners later apprehended the individual, according to DHS.

The ICE agent sustained “serious injuries to her head and arm and was immediately transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for treatment,” DHS stated, adding later that the agent has been released from the hospital.

The Department of Justice charged Hurtado, a Venezuelan national, with the attempted murder of a federal officer and assault with infliction of bodily injury.

The man had previously entered the United States illegally in 2023, according to DHS. However, Border Patrol removed him from the country.

Hurtado again illegally entered the United States in 2024 and was released into the country at the time with a “notice to appear,” which indicates the government planned to begin an immigration proceeding against him.

The Epoch Times reached out to Hurtado’s attorney for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

The attack on the ICE agent “is not an isolated incident,” DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.

She said assaults on ICE agents have increased by 500 percent recently.

“Our brave law enforcement puts their lives on the line every day to arrest terrorists, gang members, and other violent criminals that the previous administration released into American communities,” McLaughlin said. “Secretary Noem has been clear: Anyone who assaults an ICE law enforcement officer will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

DHS raised concerns about the assault risk facing ICE agents in a separate June 20 statement. In recent days, family members of ICE officers have also been doxed and targeted, and DHS warned that individuals who dox ICE agents will be prosecuted, according to the statement.

McLaughlin criticized Democrat lawmakers for their rhetoric.

“Make no mistake, Democrat politicians like Hakeem Jeffries, Mayor Wu of Boston, Governor Tim Walz, and Mayor Bass of Los Angeles are contributing to the surge in assaults of our ICE officers through their repeated vilification and demonization of ICE,” she said.

Earlier in June, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu appeared to compare ICE agents to a neo-Nazi group based in New England, according to a June 5 post on social media platform X by DHS.

“From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi Gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is despicable. This violence against ICE must end,” McLaughlin said.

The Epoch Times reached out to Jeffries, Wu, and Walz for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Declining Illegal Immigrant Numbers

In May, Border Patrol released zero illegal immigrants into the United States, a “staggering drop” from the over 62,000 illegals released along the southwest border in the same month in 2024, Customs and Border Protection said in a June 17 statement.

Border Patrol encountered 8,725 illegal immigrants crossing the southwest border in May, down from 117,905 a year ago.

“Under the leadership of this administration, CBP has received historic support resulting in another 93 percent decrease in illegal crossings along the southwest border this month when compared with last year,” acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Pete Flores said.

Meanwhile, a June 19 report from the nonprofit research group Center for Immigration Studies estimates that roughly 1 million illegal immigrants have left the United States since January.

“Our preliminary estimate is that there are 14.8 million illegal immigrants in the country in May 2025, 1 million fewer than we estimated in January of this year,” the report said.