Conflict at California Surgical Center as Staff Intervene in ICE Arrest

This week, a video surfaced showing employees at a California surgical center trying to prevent immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) agents from arresting a landscaping worker from Honduras.

The incident took place on Tuesday at the Ontario Advanced Surgery Center, located roughly 30 miles east of Los Angeles. One staff member, dressed in blue scrubs, was heard saying, “I’ll take my hand from him,” indicating their intent to protect the individual from immigration officers. “Let him go. You need to go outside,” they added.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that ICE agents were engaged in targeted enforcement to detain two undocumented individuals. They noted that an officer, clearly identified in a marked bulletproof vest, approached the target as they exited a vehicle.

Furthermore, DHS reported that one of the undocumented immigrants, identified as Dennis Gillen Solis from Honduras, fled on foot to avoid law enforcement. It has been alleged that hospital staff not only obstructed agents but also physically confronted them during the arrest attempt. They locked the doors to block access and called for emergency services, which they claimed was a “trick.”

Javier Hernandez, executive director of the Inland Coalition for Immigration Justice, informed the Associated Press that the confrontation culminated in the arrest of the Honduran man after a visible struggle within the clinic.

According to Hernandez, the detained man regularly sends money back home to Honduras to support his mother’s dialysis treatment.

This incident adds to a growing list of altercations involving federal immigration officials. On the same day, there were reports of protesters clashing with ICE agents wielding batons outside a San Francisco immigration court.

Additionally, on Thursday, there were further clashes in northern Los Angeles during an immigration operation on a marijuana farm suspected of employing undocumented workers.