Two medical center employees were arrested and charged with federal crimes after they allegedly assaulted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while attempting to prevent them from capturing an illegal alien who was hiding there.
Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, shared details on the situation after several social media posts falsely painted the illegal alien in question as an “innocent landscaper” and said that he had been arrested in the middle of a surgical procedure.
WATCH:
“Get your hands off of him! You don’t even have a warrant for him.”
Trump’s masked Gestapo invades a surgical center to grab an innocent landscaper as medical staff tell him to leave their private facility.
A lawless regime. pic.twitter.com/GOZzP1cOkM
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) July 11, 2025
“My office has filed federal criminal charges against Jose de Jesus Ortega, 38, of Highland, and Danielle Nadine Davila, 33, of Corona, who are accused of assaulting and interfering with an ICE investigation earlier this month at a surgery center in San Bernardino County,” Essayli said, naming the two employees who had attempted to physically bar ICE agents from doing their jobs.
“The media originally reported that the illegal alien was taken during a medical appointment,” Essayli continued. “That was false. The illegal alien arrested inside the surgery center was not a patient. He ran inside for cover and these defendants attempted to block his apprehension by assaulting our agents.”
“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 concluded.
Essayli discussed the situation further with Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin.
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NEW: US Attorney @USAttyEssayli joined me to discuss his decision to arrest two SoCal medical workers on federal charges of interfering w/ ICE.
“The politicians in California have emboldened people to stand up to ICE, they think it’s okay to interfere or obstruct,” Essayli said.… pic.twitter.com/wV6mfKZPQc
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) July 25, 2025
“The politicians in California have emboldened people to stand up to ICE, they think it’s okay to interfere or obstruct,” Essayli said. “We’ve said this over and over again, if you get in our way, if you lay a hand on a federal agent, you will be arrested and you will be charged.”
Melugin asked whether federal charges were an overreach in situations like these, but Essayli’s answer was an emphatic “no.”
“It’s the opposite. We have to charge these cases. We have to set an example. We have to enforce the rule of law. Federal agents are off limits. Do not touch them,” he said.