ICE Says He Tried To Run Them Over. NJ Detainee Says That's Not True

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A man who was recently detained during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sting in Morris County says that the narrative being told by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is inaccurate.

On Tuesday morning, ICE detained Honduran national Jesus Fabian Lopez-Banegas in Roxbury. The DHS says that during the arrest, Lopez-Banegas rammed into an ICE vehicle before trying to ram an agent, who shot the tires of Lopez-Banegas' car.

More — Morris County ICE Shooting: What We Know

Lopez-Banegas says that is not what happened.

He told Patch over the phone that when he and his coworker were headed to work, he noticed a “bunch of people” and cars atop the hill near his house. Lopez-Banegas said while he was driving, one of the cars struck the back of his truck.

“They didn’t tell me to stop, they didn’t tell me anything,” Lopez-Banegas said. “I was so scared.”

At this point, there were several unmarked cars surrounding Lopez-Banegas, he says.

“There was a bunch of cars, right? So I started driving very slow because I didn’t want to hit anybody,” Lopez-Banegas told Patch.

Lopez-Banegas eventually stopped when an ICE agent removed him from the car, he says. At this point, his coworker had taken the keys out of the ignition, according to Lopez-Banegas.

Lopez-Banegas told Patch it wasn’t until after he was out of the car that an ICE agent began shooting.

“He took me out in the road, and he put me on the floor,” he said. “He went to (my) car and tried to break the window. Because he couldn’t break the window, he started shooting at the car, and he started shooting in the air too.”

It was after the shots were fired when Lopez-Banegas’ coworker, who wasn't arrested, exited the truck, he says.

Lopez-Banegas added that he didn’t see an agent with ICE identification until after he was cuffed in the back of an unmarked vehicle.

Lopez-Banegas has been held in the ICE detention center in Elizabeth since Tuesday.

“(The facility) is bad,” he says. “People are sleeping on the floors… There are only some beds… The condition is bad.”

He tells Patch that he was in an appeal process with an immigration lawyer to appeal a judge’s deportation order from 2021. His employers, who have chosen to remain anonymous, say he’s been in the country for 13 years. Patch has confirmed Lopez-Banegas’ employment through a review of payroll documents.

The DHS says that Lopez-Banegas was arrested due to drug offenses and a DWI. Patch has reached out to ICE for official documentation of the charges and a detailed report of Lopez-Banegas' arrest, and has not received a reply at this time.

“I have never hurt anybody…Everything that they say about me is a bunch of lies,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to be the next step… I’m not the bad guy.”

Sources close to Lopez-Banegas are working to get him released from the detention center. Meanwhile, the incident is under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.

DHS has not responded to Patch’s request for comment.

ICE In The Garden State

Lopez-Banegas' arrest comes as ICE activity sparks controversy across New Jersey. In Roxbury, there's been backlash regarding plans to turn a warehouse into an ICE detainment facility capable of holding 1,500 people.

Just a few miles away, an 18-year-old high school student was detained by ICE while doing his laundry in Morristown. A judge deemed his arrest unlawful, and he was released days later.

More recent ICE-related incidents have been seen in Somerset, Union, Bergen, and Camden counties.

The federal activity has sparked outrage across the state from both residents and politicians. Governor Mikie Sherrill recently took executive action that would ban ICE from operating on any state-owned property without a judicial warrant.

The Sherrill administration has also rolled out websites so residents could report potentially unconstitutional activity from immigration agents, and learn more about their constitutional rights with regard to immigration status.

“Today, we are making clear that the Trump administration’s lawless actions will not go unchecked in New Jersey,” she said. “Given ICE’s willingness to flout the Constitution and violently endanger communities – detaining children, arresting citizens, and even killing several innocent civilians – I will stand up for New Jerseyans right to be safe.”

More from Patch:

• NJ Transit Abides By ICE Ban From Property, Officials Say
• ‘Know Your Rights’: ICE Raids Prompt Warnings From Morristown Officials
• ICE, Homeland Security Address Morristown Raid
• ICE Pulls People From Cars In Somerset County Raids, Officials Say
• Father Of 9-Year-Old, Newborn Among Those Detained In Princeton ICE Raid