Federal authorities have arrested a California medical center employee accused of interfering with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation.
Earlier this month, ICE agents were attempting to apprehend Honduran national Denis Guillen-Solis when he fled on foot and ran into the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center. Although Guillen-Solis was reportedly not a patient or otherwise affiliated with the facility, staff members allegedly tried to prevent ICE agents from arresting him, going as far as to physically confront officers.
A US magistrate judge issued criminal warrants for two employees at the facility: Jose De Jesus Ortega and Danielle Nadine Davila. Both are charged with “forcibly assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal officer involving physical contact” and “conspiring to prevent, by force and intimidation, a federal officer from discharging his duties.”
Ortega was taken into custody on Friday. Davila remains at large. According to the criminal complaint, Davila allegedly placed her hands on an ICE officer and physically positioned herself between the agent and Guillen-Solis.
ICE issued a statement on July 9 detailing the incident.
“ICE officers conducted a targeted enforcement operation to arrest two illegal aliens. Officers in clearly marked ICE bulletproof vests approached the illegal alien targets as they exited a vehicle,” DHS posted on X. “One of the illegal aliens, Denis Guillen-Solis who is from Honduras, fled on foot to evade law enforcement. He ended up near the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center where hospital staff assaulted law enforcement and drug the officer and illegal alien into the facility. Then, the staff attempted to obstruct the arrest by locking the door, blocking law enforcement vehicles from moving, and even called the cops claiming there was a ‘kidnapping.’”
US Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli told Fox News that the incident was another instance of a false narrative being pushed by the media.
“The illegal alien arrested inside the medical center was not a patient and was not in any way affiliated with that location. He ran inside for cover and these medical workers attempted to block his apprehension by assaulting our agents,” Essayli explained.
“To be very clear, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you work, if you assault our agents or otherwise interfere with our operations, you will be arrested and charged with a federal crime,” he added.
