Immigrations and Customs Enforcement hits observer with vehicle in Woodland
The incident takes place among a statewide surge in immigration enforcement across California ahead of the midterms
By MADELYN SEVIGNY — city@theaggie.org
On Oct. 20, NorCal Resist volunteer Antonio Moreida was hit by a vehicle operated by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while documenting their activities in a Woodland neighborhood.
The collision occurred at approximately 9:38 a.m. near Locust Street and Clover Street in Woodland, according to the Woodland Police Department.
Videos captured multiple angles of the incident. The video posted by the immigrant advocacy group NorCal Resist on Instagram follows an SUV as it drives away from the camera, showing brake lights and the vehicle swerving to the left. Moreida, who is in the roadway, falls to the ground and rolls onto his back as the SUV continues driving. Home surveillance camera footage released by KCRA3 shows Moreida walking in the middle of the street, holding a GoPro camera, and the SUV swerving and striking Moreida with its right front side.
Woodland Police Department is currently conducting an investigation. On Oct. 21, they issued a statement saying they reviewed the video evidence and concluded that, so far, the pedestrian was struck and did not jump onto the hood of the vehicle. They also said that the driver remained near the scene, contacted the police dispatch and cooperated with police officers during the initial investigation.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson made a statement regarding the incident.
“An agitator jumped onto the hood of an ICE vehicle and the officer driving applied the brakes,” the DHS spokesperson said. “The agitator slid off the hood. ICE immediately contacted EMS and the Woodland Police Department. Flopping for the camera is dangerous, especially when it interferes with a federal law enforcement operation.”
Woodland Police Department said that this statement is not entirely consistent with their findings.
“Certain claims made in the DHS statement are inconsistent with the video evidence obtained and reviewed by Woodland Police investigators,” the statement reads. “We believe our community deserves accurate, factual information about this incident, particularly given the concerns it has raised.”
Moreida spoke at the Woodland City Council meeting later that day and received support from community members, with many at the meeting making public comments criticizing ICE’s presence in the city.
“Honestly, I mean, it’s not about me,” Moreida said. “And really, I guess I just wanted to follow up with ensuring that, you know, some of the community’s calls for action hopefully do come through.”
The incident has drawn condemnation from immigrants’ rights advocates and elected officials. Representative Mike Thompson, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and Senator Alex Padilla all made statements condemning ICE’s actions.
Giselle Garcia, programs director at NorCal Resist, was volunteering with Morieda and shared her experience of interactions with ICE while documenting their activity.
“These ICE officers were really frustrated,” Garcia said. “They don’t like us to hold them accountable and they like to operate in secrecy, right? They don't want the community to know when they're kidnapping their neighbors [...] what ends up happening is that ICE continues to kind of escalate in their aggression, the less people that are there, because they think they can get away with it.”
Garcia stated that she believes ICE intended to hurt the volunteer by hitting them with the vehicle.
“The intent behind it was clear: to cause severe harm,” Garcia said. “This was a large vehicle, heavy machinery, against a human body without any kind of protection.”
The Washington Examiner reported that ICE has been conducting a 45-day operation across California leading up to the midterm elections. However, while this enforcement operation has been reported by various media outlets, it has not been officially confirmed by ICE. Immigration advocates say this new round of immigration raids in California is aimed at discouraging voting in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Garcia said that NorCal Resist has seen increased ICE enforcement in the region and does not believe it is temporary.
“We are not operating under the understanding that this is simply a 45-day operation in California,” Garcia said. “We are actually operating under an understanding that this might just be the new normal moving forward.”
Written By: Madelyn Sevigny — city@theaggie.org