A Department of Justice (DOJ) official prosecuting anti-deportation riot cases in California says the violence has only hardened resolve in enforcing immigration law.
Rioting mobs that ransacked California with fires, vandalism and assaults on law enforcement starting in June have not stopped Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from fulfilling its mission, Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Essayli’s Central California office has charged dozens with attacking federal agents or otherwise trying to impede ICE operations as violence against immigration officials skyrockets nationwide.
“I’d tell them to think again,” Essayli said of would-be rioters. “They’re not going to derail our operations. None of our operations have been derailed. We have not been dissuaded from conducting immigration enforcement.”
A federal grand jury has indicted Jacob Daniel Terrazas, 30, of Paramount, for injuring a Border Patrol officer during an anti-ICE riot on June 7.
After repeatedly throwing pieces of cinderblock at law enforcement, officers detained Terrazas, who now faces up to 20 years in… pic.twitter.com/rZciySA16g
— Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) August 7, 2025
“In fact, we had a very high-profile enforcement operation last week … so all they’re doing is causing us to double down and invest more resources in these immigration enforcement operations,” Essayli said.
ICE arrested 1,618 illegal immigrants in Los Angeles alone in June, the month that the riots kicked off in response to widespread raids, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) arrested hundreds during the June riots, and Essayli announced July 30 that his office charged 53 with federal crimes since then, with four pleading guilty. Essayli’s team has charged “more since then,” the prosecutor told the DCNF.
Essayli said some of his most “disturbing” riot cases allegedly involve people throwing Molotov cocktails, which are incendiary devices made out of household items and are popular among left-wing violent extremists.
“They’re basically bombs that they’re making and throwing at law enforcement,” Essayli said. “One of them destroyed a police vehicle … One guy threw one inside of a hotel where he believed agents were staying. One was thrown at LAPD officers. I mean, those things can kill people.”
“But just in general, the attitude and the sentiment of the public that it’s okay to obstruct or to impede immigration agents, that’s been the most disturbing,” Essayli told the DCNF. “It’s almost like they think it’s not a real crime, or it’s okay because they’re, like, not real agents, and that is the conditioning that has been perpetuated by the political class here in California, and that’s a problem.”
Legacy media outlets have highlighted a handful of Essayli’s cases that faced skepticism in court and failed to secure grand jury indictments, but Essayli said they are “misinterpreting” the situation as widespread failure on his part. In reality, attorneys will sometimes downgrade cases from felonies to misdemeanors or temporarily withdraw cases to gather more evidence and prosecute them later, Essayli told the DCNF. Many riot cases were filed immediately after incidents occurred and require further examination, Essayli said.
“I’ve been very clear: if any of them get in our way, if they touch agents, then they’re going to find themselves in handcuffs and charged with the other 50-plus people we’ve charged already,” Essayli told the DCNF.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
