A federal immigration agent was struck by a vehicle on Monday after he tried to apprehend the driver, a Peruvian immigrant, during a traffic stop in New Jersey, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
The driver ran into the agent as he fled at about 9:30 a.m. in Manahawkin, a community along the Jersey Shore, the Homeland Security Department and the Stafford Township Police Department said in separate statements. The officer then fired his weapon and hit the vehicle, the police said.
Local and federal officials said that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was hurt, though the extent of his injuries was unclear; the Homeland Security Department, the parent agency of ICE, said that the agent had been transported to a hospital for treatment.
Local officials said that they did not know if the driver, who remains at large, was injured.
Federal officials identified the driver as Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno. The agency said that Mr. Castillo-Ormeno had entered the United States during the Biden administration and was ordered by a judge on Jan. 30 to leave the country.
The Homeland Security Department said that Mr. Castillo-Ormeno had “weaponized” his car against the ICE agent. The New York Times could not independently confirm the agency’s version of events.
The ICE agent was working without the assistance of local law enforcement officers, according to local police officials, who said that the Stafford Township Police Department was not investigating the incident and was only blocking off the crime scene and managing traffic at the location, near Mermaid Drive on Route 72.
Hours after the incident, Representative Jeff Van Drew, a Republican from New Jersey, accused some politicians and activists of demonizing law enforcement agents. Mr. Van Drew said that the agent was expected to recover.
“ICE agents put their lives on the line every day to enforce our nation’s laws and protect our communities,” Mr. Van Drew said in a statement. “This incident is a reminder of the dangers these brave men and women face.”
The Homeland Security Department said that the F.B.I. was at the scene on Monday afternoon. A television news van was parked outside a nearby Wawa convenience store, where employees who declined to identify themselves said that the crash happened across the street next to a wooded area. The workers said that they were stunned by the incident.
The episode happened after weeks of protests at Delaney Hall, a large immigration detention center in Newark, about a 90 minute drive north from Manahawkin.
Protesters have clashed with law enforcement officials outside Delaney Hall on an almost nightly basis after detainees complained about conditions inside. The demonstrations have led to at least 100 arrests, scrutiny from congressional Democrats and threats from the Trump administration to flood New Jersey with more immigration agents.
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