Michigan’s Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call involving a man fighting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on January 19.
A spokesperson for ICE told the press that the man involved in the incident has been taken into custody and has had multiple criminal convictions in the past.
“On January 19, ICE Grand Rapids officers arrested Pablo Perez Rodriguez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, with convictions for felony obstructing police, assaulting a police officer, and driving under the influence,” the source said.
“During the arrest, this criminal illegal alien resisted arrest and physically assaulted law enforcement officers.”
Captain of Investigative Services Jacob Sparks from the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office told The Midwesterner that officers responded to a call regarding a man fighting with two unidentified officers around 8:30 am in Holland Township.
“It was called in by a witness on scene, who was asked by the officers to call 9-1-1 due to the combative subject,” Sparks said.
“A Sheriff’s deputy responded and arrived after the subject was in custody. The deputy confirmed that the officers were Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers, who were making an arrest of an individual with a federal warrant. Once confirming everyone was safe, our deputy cleared the scene.”
Sparks stated that the Sheriff’s Office is not and has not been involved in ICE operations.
The spokesperson from ICE stated that violence against Federal law enforcement has risen.
“Federal law enforcement officers are facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” they said. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, criminals are not welcome in the U.S.”
The Department of Homeland Security attributed rising numbers of assaults against Federal officers to political rhetoric in a November 2025 press release.
“After months of Democrat politicians comparing ICE to Nazis, the gestapo, slave patrols, and even encouraging illegal aliens to resist arrest, our brave ICE law enforcement have been assaulted 238 times,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Our law enforcement officers have had Molotov cocktails and rocks thrown at them, been shot at, had cars used as weapons against them, and been physically assaulted.”
“Sanctuary politicians need to tone the rhetoric down before a law enforcement officer is killed.”
Elected officials from Michigan have expressed opposition to ICE, including in legislation.
U.S. Congressman and incumbent candidate Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., who represents the state’s 13th district, introduced the Abolish ICE Act on January 15.
The proposed legislation calls for the agency to be abolished and says that “the design of ICE prioritizes aggressive enforcement rather than compliance with due process rights.”
U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., who is running for reelection in the state’s 3rd Congressional District, previously opposed legislation that would have made assaulting a law enforcement officer a deportable offense, according to a report in May 2023.
