After 7-hour standoff, ICE arrests illegal border crossers in Houston area suburb

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(The Center Square) – A targeted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in a Houston suburb led to a seven-hour standoff, a crowd erupting in protest, and three men eventually being arrested. 

ICE officers arrested three illegal foreign nationals in Pasadena, a suburb south of Houston, including Oscar Daniel Barron Hernandez, 28, who previously illegally entered the U.S. three times, ICE said. ICE was performing a targeted enforcement operation and eventually arrested Hernandez, his brother-in-law and a coworker.

Their arrests were not without incident. 

On Monday morning, news crews from several local television stations captured on video a crowd of residents screaming obscenities at ICE officers during what would become a seven-hour standoff.  

The three illegal foreign nationals had left the neighborhood near West Houston Avenue and Dade Street about 5 a.m. to go to work until they realized they were being followed by ICE officers. They were ordered to stop, ignored the directive and bailed out of their vehicle. Running on foot, they reached Hernandez’s residence, where they barricaded themselves inside, according to law enforcement officials. 

“The suspect brazenly defied lawful commands to stop the vehicle and fled from the scene endangering the local community, the officers, his two passengers, and himself,” ICE said in a statement.

The Pasadena Police Department confirmed the Department of Homeland Security was conducting operations in the city. Police officers have only been providing assistance, including closing off perimeters and maintaining traffic and crowd control, it said.

Residents claimed ICE officers damaged personal property, cut off power to the residence, threatened to use tear gas, among other claims. 

ICE refuted the claims, stating federal agents didn’t damage the home and all three men eventually surrendered peacefully.

ICE described the standoff as “tense but controlled” and officers attempted to de-escalate a situation that could have turned violent.

“We are proud of our ICE law enforcement who handled themselves with the utmost professionalism as they were taunted and called names for simply enforcing our nation’s laws,” ICE told KHOU-11 News 

Margarita Barrón, Hernandez’s wife, told KPRC News 2 her husband and brother-in-law were both in the country illegally. Her four children, between the ages of six months and 12 years old, were inside the home when Hernandez and the other men barricaded themselves inside, potentially endangering them.

ICE has confirmed that all three men who were arrested and remain in ICE custody were identified as part of a larger enforcement operation in the city. ICE officers have been prioritizing violent offenders, previously deported illegal foreign nationals and repeat offenders as a larger enforcement operation under the Turmp administration.

ICE-Houston officers continue to arrest violent offenders in Texas’ largest city. Recent arrests include more than 350 gang members who illegally entered the U.S. 1,400 times who have a combined nearly 1,700 criminal convictions, The Center Square reported.