ICE Officer Confrontation
ICE Officer Fires at Fleeing Vehicle in Manahawkin After Being Struck; Suspect at Large
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A suspect allegedly struck a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent with a vehicle and fled on Route 72 in Manahawkin, New Jersey, on April 29, 2024, according to Fox San Antonio. The ICE officer was treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and released. The suspect, identified as Angel Leonardo Proano-Perez, a 30-year-old Ecuadorian national living in Newark, was not found at the scene.
Proano-Perez was apprehended on May 1, 2024, in Newark by the U.S. Marshals Service and ICE agents, according to KOMO News. He now faces two second-degree felony charges: aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and eluding police. Each charge carries a potential sentence of 5 to 10 years in New Jersey state prison.
ICE Forced Into Dangerous Public Arrests Without Local Backup
The attempted arrest happened in the open, on a busy public road. That is not a coincidence. New Jersey's Immigrant Trust Directive — a state policy in place since 2018 — bars local and county police from helping ICE with civil immigration enforcement. ICE cannot rely on a controlled jail handoff. Instead, agents must chase targets in public places like Route 72, a major road to the Jersey Shore.
Federal law enforcement unions argue the policy creates serious danger. Without local police backup, ICE is forced into what critics call "cold" arrests — unannounced, unsupported takedowns in public. ICE spokesperson Emilio Dabul said after the incident: "The safety of our officers is paramount. We will pursue those who endanger law enforcement to the fullest extent of the law," according to the Asbury Park Press.
New Jersey's Sanctuary Laws Put State and Feds on Collision Course
New Jersey's Immigrant Trust Directive does allow local police to help in criminal matters. That is why Stafford Township Police and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office could join the manhunt after the assault — because it became a criminal case, not just an immigration one. Schools in the area were placed on shelter-in-place status during the search on April 29.
Data from TRAC Immigration at Syracuse University shows the directive has had a real operational impact. Before the directive, ICE averaged more than 3,000 removals per year in New Jersey. Now, roughly 70% of ICE operations in the state are "at-large" arrests — meaning agents find suspects out in the open rather than at a jail. That shift increases the risk of violent confrontations.
New Jersey Opens a Second Front Against Federal Detention
The Manahawkin incident is not the only battleground between New Jersey and federal immigration authorities. On May 15, 2024, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed a lawsuit against GEO Group, the private company that runs Delaney Hall, a detention facility with roughly 1,200 beds. Platkin demanded a full state inspection, citing public health concerns.
Platkin said: "Private companies operating in our state are not exempt from oversight, especially when the health and safety of individuals are at stake," according to NJ.com. New Jersey passed a law in 2021 to ban new private detention contracts, but GEO Group successfully blocked parts of it in federal court. Legal analysts expect the GEO Group case to reach the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Public Split as Politicians Clash Over What Happened in Manahawkin
The incident has become a flashpoint in New Jersey politics. State Senator Robert Singer argued the state is "shielding criminals" and creating a "dangerous environment for both officers and the public," according to the Idaho News. Republican lawmakers have pointed to the assault as direct proof that sanctuary policies put federal agents at risk.
Immigration rights groups push back hard. The ACLU of New Jersey argues that incidents like Manahawkin are rare and that community trust in local police matters more for overall public safety than ICE enforcement numbers. A 2023 Monmouth University poll found New Jersey residents are nearly evenly split: 48% support allowing local police to help ICE, while 45% oppose it.
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