ICE Use of Force and Oversight

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Honduran national Jesus Fabian Lopez‑Banegas tried to flee arrest in Roxbury Township, New Jersey, on Tuesday by ramming a law‑enforcement vehicle with his pickup and nearly hitting an officer, prompting an ICE agent to fire his weapon and shoot out the truck’s tires. Cellphone video shows the two vehicles nose‑to‑nose on a snowy roadside as the agent stands with his gun drawn until Lopez‑Banegas exits with his hands raised and is taken into ICE custody. DHS says Lopez‑Banegas has prior U.S. convictions for drug trafficking, drug possession and DUI and was ordered removed by an immigration judge in 2021. Acting New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said her Office of Public Integrity and Accountability has opened an independent investigation into the incident, with local police, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office and the sheriff securing the scene, and noted that no injuries have been reported. DHS is using the case to argue that officers are facing a sharp rise in vehicle attacks and assaults when trying to arrest what it calls 'criminal illegal aliens,' a claim that will likely be scrutinized as part of wider national debate over ICE’s tactics and use of force in interior operations.