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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that another four individuals were arrested for allegedly interfering with a federal immigration operation outside Los Angeles as law enforcement officers face increased attacks for enforcing the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), meanwhile, said it “is actively tracking these targeted assaults against our law enforcement and will hold offenders accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Any official promoting anti-police rhetoric and encouraging reckless behavior should think twice before inciting further violence and putting federal agents in harm’s way,” a DOJ spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The incident happened while U.S. Border Patrol conducted what DHS categorized as a “target immigration enforcement operation” in Van Nuys, Calif., on Tuesday.
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A Border Patrol vehicle tire punctured by a “homemade” device with nails on Tuesday in Van Nuys, California. (@USBPChiefELC/X)
“DHS and its components continue to enforce the law every day in greater Los Angeles even in the face of danger,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “During the operation, four U.S. citizens placed improvised tire deflation devices on the road and punctured a Border Patrol vehicle’s tire. Agents were able to identify the suspects and placed them under arrest for obstructing law enforcement.”
“During the arrest, one individual assaulted a Border Patrol agent and was subsequently arrested for assaulting federal law enforcement,” DHS added. “Our officers are facing a surge in assaults and attacks against them as they put their lives on the line to enforce our nation’s laws. Secretary Noem has been clear: If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Agent Gregory K. Bovino was the first to identify the four suspects arrested Tuesday.
Border Patrol agents arrested Jenaro-Ernesto Ayala, 43; Jude Jasmine Jeannine Allar, 28; Sadot Jarnica, 54; and Daniel Montenegro, 30, “for interfering with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement operations,” Bovino said in an X post. “They are facing felony charges for placing homemade tire spikes to disable law enforcement vehicles. Anyone who interferes with our lawful mission will be arrested.”
“The case is being reviewed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty,” he added.
Photos shared by Bovino show a tire on a Border Patrol vehicle punctured by a caltrop-like device made of nail spikes.
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Border Patrol agents arrested (left to right) Jenaro-Ernesto Ayala, 43; Jude Jasmine Jeannine Allard, 28; Sadot Jarnica, 54; and Daniel Montenegro, 30. (@USBPChiefELC/X)
Local outlets said nonprofit organization Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur De California (IDEPSCA) identified Ayala and Allard as “day laborer advocates,” or individuals who support people, including migrants, seeking short-term and informal jobs.
IDEPSCA operates a day labor center in the parking lot of the Home Depot where the immigration operation was being conducted, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The group claimed that the two men were arrested while exercising their legal right to observe and document the immigration raid and complained about federal agents tackling their advocates.
Officials documented two homemade tire-deflating devices with metal nails. (@USBPChiefELC/X)
Fox News Digital has also reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and IDEPSCA for more information.
The incident comes as DHS has reported a 700% increase in attacks on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal immigration enforcement agents since President Donald Trump took office this year.
Federal immigration agents have come under armed ambushes in Texas twice in recent days.
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A man wearing a utility vest and armed with an assault rifle fired dozens of rounds at federal agents and a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, on Monday, authorities said. Ten individuals were charged in connection with a Fourth of July ambush outside a detention center in Alvarado, Texas, where a police officer was shot in the neck and other correctional officers came under fire, according to the DOJ.
The DOJ has also been monitoring repeated attacks and sabotage attempts on an ICE facility in Portland, Ore., since June.