The Department of Homeland Security pushed back Saturday on Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s account of an encounter between Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and a man he called an “asylum seeker,” saying the man is an undocumented Honduran who caused a crash while trying to evade arrest, DHS told Fox News.
DHS identified the man as Ever Omar Alvarenga-Rios and said he has a final order of removal dating to 2018. According to DHS, ICE officers attempted to arrest him on Thursday in Baltimore and he tried to evade arrest. DHS said Alvarenga-Rios failed to comply during a vehicle stop, “drove recklessly” through the city, struck a concrete wall and injured his head, and then “slammed on his brakes,” causing a multi-vehicle crash. DHS said he attempted to flee on foot and ignored commands, and that officers “followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to make the arrest.” Two officers were injured and taken to the hospital, DHS said.
“This illegal alien broke our laws, resisted arrest, sent two ICE law enforcement officers to the hospital, and endangered the general public. Thankfully both our officers are expected to make a full recovery,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement to Fox News. Bis added that sheltering policies and webinars encouraging evasion put the public and officers at risk, saying, “Sanctuary politicians must stop encouraging this reckless behavior that endangers illegal aliens, our officers, and the public.” DHS also denied claims that officers beat the man.
Van Hollen, D-Md., posted photos on social media of the man in a hospital bed and described him as an “asylum seeker” who was rear-ended by an ICE vehicle while driving to work Thursday in Baltimore. Van Hollen said the man suffered “significant injuries to his head, chest, back and hands,” and accused ICE of denying him access to attorneys. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Van Hollen said ICE under the Trump administration “continues to prevent Ever Alvarenga from meeting with attorneys while in the hospital — preventing them from receiving full updates on his health condition or discussing his case so that the full set of facts can come to light.” He added, “Mr. Alvarenga has a right to due process and full access to his legal representation. By standing in the way, it looks like the Administration has something to hide.”
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
