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Fugitive Illegal Immigrant Hits ICE Officer With Car in Sacramento

Federal agents have faced a string of similar vehicle assaults in recent months as immigration enforcement operations have intensified across the country.

Rudy Blalock

Published: 3/31/2026, 4:29:21 PM EDT

Fugitive Illegal Immigrant Hits ICE Officer With Car in Sacramento — Xa Lee, a criminal illegal immigrant, wanted for deportation and several other offenses. March 30, 2026 (DHS)

A man wanted for deportation rammed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with his vehicle during an arrest attempt in Sacramento last week and has not been found since, federal officials announced Monday.

Xa Lee, 40, a Laotian national with a final order of removal dating back to 2010, hit an ICE officer with his vehicle while trying to escape a traffic stop on March 25, the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday. The officer was not injured. Lee fled on foot and remains at large.

ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations division in San Francisco identified Lee as a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy, petty theft, two DUIs, resisting a peace officer, battery, and felony possession of a firearm.

"On March 25, 2026, ICE conducted a targeted vehicle stop to arrest Xa Lee, a fugitive and criminal illegal alien from Laos," said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. "During the vehicle stop, Lee attempted to flee and hit an ICE officer with his vehicle. The officer, thankfully, did not sustain injuries. During the incident, ICE officers pulled out their tasers. He fled the scene and remains at large."

Despite a 2010 immigration judge order mandating his removal, Lee had been enrolled in the government's Alternative to Detention Program—a supervised release arrangement—rather than being held in custody.

DHS is asking the public to contact the ICE Tip Line at (866) 347-2423 or submit a report through the agency's online tip form with any information on his whereabouts.

"This is just the latest in a disturbing trend of vehicle attacks," Bis said. "We are calling on the public to report any sightings of this criminal illegal alien to ICE."

The Sacramento incident is not isolated. Federal agents have faced a string of similar vehicle assaults in recent months as immigration enforcement operations have intensified across the country.

In December, a Portuguese national in Glen Burnie, Maryland, rammed ICE vehicles and drove directly at officers, forcing agents to defensively fire their service weapons. That same month, a Cuban illegal immigrant in Minnesota—who had entered the U.S. through the Biden administration's CBP One app—rammed his car into two officers and multiple vehicles, also prompting officers to discharge their weapons.

In October, an illegal immigrant from Mexico in South Los Angeles rammed a federal vehicle repeatedly during a traffic stop, setting off a shootout that sent a U.S. Marshal and the suspect to the hospital. And in January, a Honduran national in suburban Dallas was indicted on three counts of assaulting federal agents after ramming multiple law enforcement vehicles in December while trying to flee a traffic stop.

DHS officials tied the escalating violence to actions by Democratic politicians and state and local officials. The agency pointed to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who hosted a webinar providing tips to illegal immigrants on how to avoid arrest at homes, workplaces, and in public. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) posted a video online urging illegal immigrants to develop a plan for ICE encounters, DHS said. Adding to the list, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass distributed multilingual flyers advising people on how to evade federal agents. And California Gov. Gavin Newsom released guides and enacted sanctuary laws instructing people on how to identify ICE agents, block entry to their homes, and resist arrest.

"This dangerous attempt to evade arrest comes after sanctuary politicians held webinars and provided resources and tips for how to openly defy ICE," DHS said in its statement.

The department renewed its call for elected officials to pull back from encouraging resistance against federal law enforcement.

"DHS is once calling on sanctuary politicians, agitators, and the media to turn the temperature down and stop calling for violence and resistance against ICE law enforcement," DHS said.