Woman Sentenced to More Than a Year in Prison After Assaulting DHS Officers in Florida

The defendant struck an ICE officer, a CBP officer, and a Florida Highway Patrol trooper during the altercation in January

WASHINGTON - The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after a defendant was sentenced to 15 months in prison for assaulting a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer, along with a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper, in January.

According to local reporting, the incident occurred on January 13 during a joint immigration enforcement operation involving ICE, CBP, and FHP personnel in Jacksonville, Florida. During a traffic stop involving two illegal aliens, Jennifer Susan Cruz, a U.S. citizen, got out of her car and punched an FHP trooper in the face. As the officers restrained and arrested her, Cruz continued resisting by kicking and screaming. When they placed her in the back of a law enforcement vehicle, she began kicking an ICE officer and a CBP officer, before then kicking the ceiling of the vehicle.

On October 14, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida announced that Cruz had been sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Jennifer Susan Cruz

In addition to the prison sentence, Cruz was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $5,592 in restitution.

"This woman thought she could get away with viciously assaulting federal law enforcement officers who were in the middle of arresting illegal aliens," said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. "Now, after she assaulted an ICE officer, a CBP officer, and a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, she has been sentenced to 15 months in prison. Let this be a warning to anyone out there who thinks they have a right to interfere with immigration enforcement and attack our officers: don't even think about it. We will arrest you, and you will face the consequences. I want to thank our partners at the Department of Justice and the state of Florida for their work in ensuring that justice was done here."

"Assaulting law enforcement officers who are carrying out their lawful duties is intolerable," said HSI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tim Hemker. "HSI is committed to upholding the rule of law, especially against those who attack the men and women sworn to protect our communities and enforce our laws."

"By refusing to comply with lawful commands and assaulting officers during a law enforcement operation, the defendant in this case caused physical harm to officers and placed the public at risk," said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe. "Now, she will face the consequences of her actions."

This case was investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), and the Florida Highway Patrol. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.

# # #