Guatemalan Man Sentenced to Prison for Attacking ICE Officer

Enrique Lopez-Mejia injured the officer attempting to arrest him following his eighth illegal reentry into the United States

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey today announced that Enrique Lopez-Mejia, 41, a citizen of Guatemala, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou to 24 months in prison for assaulting and resisting a United States Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officer.

The assault occurred when immigration agents attempted to stop a vehicle occupied by Lopez-Mejia and other illegal aliens. He attempted to evade officers by driving erratically, stopping abruptly, then fleeing from his car in Grand Rapids. When caught, Lopez-Mejia pushed an officer to the ground and wrestled with him until other officers succeeded in handcuffing him and securing him in their patrol car. The defendant injured an officer’s knee during the confrontation, which required medical treatment. 

Lopez-Mejia is illegally in the United States for the eighth time, after having been ordered removed by an immigration judge in 2005 and being deported seven times between 2005 and 2016. After the completion of his sentence, he will again be removed to his native Guatemala.

U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey said, “This case deserves our attention because it is an example of the dangerous work we ask our immigration officers to do every day. Lopez-Mejia has been removed from the United States seven times since 2000.  He has been convicted numerous times for illegally re-entering the United States, and for committing state offenses once he got here. He is already subject to a lifetime ban from this country.  This time, when he was found here yet again, he attacked and injured one of the officers who was trying to apprehend him.  My office fully supports the important and dangerous work our immigration officers are asked to do and will always vigorously prosecute attacks like this one.”  

“ICE officers put themselves in harm’s way every day to uphold our nation’s immigration laws and protect our communities,” said ICE ERO Detroit Field Office Director Matthew Putra. “This sentencing sends a clear message that individuals who assault federal officers will be held accountable. I commend our officers and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan for their work in bringing this case to justice.”

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations - Grand Rapids investigated this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Daniels prosecuted it.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.