Attack on ICE Officer in Minneapolis

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, a group of individuals who had been illegally residing in the U.S. allegedly attacked an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer with a shovel. This incident occurred during ongoing demonstrations against ICE.

ICE agents were performing an enforcement operation targeting Julio Cesar Saucercelis, a Venezuelan undocumented immigrant. Saucercelis had a prior conviction for driving without a license and was arrested for giving a false identity to a police officer.

Saucercelis, who was initially released by Minnesota authorities, crossed the border into the U.S. in 2022. He was subsequently let into the country under the Biden administration’s policies.

When an ICE agent attempted to detain Saucercelis, he reportedly drove away, crashed into a parked car, and then fled on foot.

As the ICE officer pursued him, Saucercelis allegedly started assaulting the officer. During this altercation, two other men—Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna and Gabriel Alejandro Hernández-Ledesma—joining the fray, began striking ICE officers with shovels.

Eventually, Saucercelis managed to escape, prompting the ICE officers to engage him, during which they too allegedly used shovels. Fearing for their lives, officials reported that they shot Saucercelis in the leg.

Following the altercation, Saucercelis, Ajorna, and Hernández-Ledesma retreated to a nearby apartment complex and barricaded themselves inside.

The injured ICE officer is currently recovering in the hospital, while Ajorna and Hernández-Ledesma are now in ICE custody.

Ajorna entered the U.S. for the first time in May 2023 but missed an immigration hearing, which led to his release. A deportation order has since been issued against him.

Hernández-Ledesma also crossed into the U.S. in May 2023 and was released into the country’s interior. Under previous DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, he was not considered a priority for arrest or deportation.