Federal immigration agents chased a Honduran landscaper into Ontario Advanced Surgery Center in Southern California, leading to a tense confrontation with medical staff. The agents, wearing masks and bulletproof vests, were met with demands from clinic workers to show a warrant and identify themselves.
Viral Video Shows Staff Protecting Detainee
Video from the scene shows clinic staff in scrubs shielding the landscaper, who was crying and struggling to breathe. One staff member is heard saying, “Get your hands off of him. You don’t even have a warrant. Let him go. You need to get out.”
DHS Defends Operation, Accuses Staff of Obstruction
The Department of Homeland Security said officers were conducting a targeted arrest of two men illegally in the U.S. when one fled into the clinic. The agency accused staff of “assaulting law enforcement” and obstructing the arrest. The surgical center has not commented publicly.
Advocates Question ICE’s Claims
Javier Hernandez of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice said the man was eventually arrested and his current whereabouts are unknown. He said the landscaper was supporting his mother’s dialysis treatments back in Honduras. Hernandez questioned ICE’s claim of a targeted operation, noting that agents interrogated two co-workers until confirming their legal status.
Growing Concern Over Public Arrest Tactics
Hernandez praised the clinic staff for their courage and expressed concern over increasingly aggressive tactics by ICE.
“It’s getting harder because the tactics are getting more violent,” he said.
Similar Incident Sparks Protest in San Francisco
In another incident this week, ICE agents leaving an immigration courthouse in San Francisco handcuffed a man and put him in a black SUV. Protesters tried to block the vehicle, with one person clinging to the hood as it sped away.
For more on this story, stay tuned to Que Onda Magazine.