{"id":1997,"date":"2026-06-19T04:35:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T04:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1997"},"modified":"2026-06-19T04:35:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T04:35:18","slug":"immigrant-who-self-deported-defends-himself-after-ice-said-it-was-seeking-his-arrest-in-n-j","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1997","title":{"rendered":"Immigrant who self-deported defends himself after ICE said it was seeking his arrest in N.J."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

ICE said this week that its officers conducted \u201ca targeted vehicle stop\u201d in New Jersey to detain a Peruvian immigrant who had a final deportation order. But the man ICE said it was looking for had self-deported three months ago \u2014\u00a0and had received compensation for voluntarily leaving the U.S.<\/p>\n

Read more Rep. Tom Kean Jr. to return to Congress on June 30 after monthslong absence<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt gave me goose bumps, because the accusation involves a very serious matter,\u201d Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno told Noticias Telemundo in Spanish from Pisco, Peru, where he was born.<\/p>\n

ICE had identified Castillo-Ormeno in a statement it released on Monday that said one of its officers was struck by a vehicle when they \u201cattempted to conduct a vehicle stop\u201d in Manahawkin, New Jersey, to arrest him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe driver then weaponized his vehicle and struck an officer resulting in the officer discharging his weapon,\u201d ICE said.<\/p>\n

The ICE officer received medical attention at a hospital after sustaining injuries to his legs.<\/p>\n

Back in Peru, Castillo-Ormeno said he began receiving phone calls from relatives telling him his name was being tied to the ICE incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a serious matter that could affect me \u2014 perhaps now, perhaps in the future \u2014 because they are practically treating me like a criminal, and I just didn\u2019t know what to do,\u201d Castillo-Ormeno said.<\/p>\n

Castillo-Ormeno had arrived to the U.S. in the summer of 2022. He remained in the country, continuously checking in with ICE, as his asylum case made its way through immigration court.<\/p>\n

When his asylum process ended with an immigration judge issuing a final order of removal on Jan. 30, Castillo-Ormeno began to save up money to buy flights for his girlfriend, their child and himself to return to Peru, he said.<\/p>\n

They left the U.S. on March 2 and arrived in Peru the following day. Castillo-Ormeno shared pictures of his plane tickets and the family\u2019s flight back to Peru with Noticias Telemundo.<\/p>\n

Castillo-Ormeno even applied for the CBP Home program that offers monetary incentives to people who decide to voluntarily leave the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd sure enough, they gave me the incentive after verifying that I was in my country,\u201d Castillo-Ormeno said. \u201cIf they hadn\u2019t verified it, they wouldn\u2019t have given me the incentive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Tiki hut fire leaves four people displaced in Fort Lauderdale<\/a><\/p>\n

Emails obtained by NBC News and Telemundo show Castillo-Ormeno got his CBP Home incentive in late April. Castillo-Ormeno and his girlfriend, who also applied, received payments of $2,600 each, Castillo-Ormeno said.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security stood by ICE\u2019s original statement about Castillo-Ormeno and the incident that injured one of its immigration officers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never said Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno was the driver of the vehicle that was weaponized against our officer,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cWe stand by our statement.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to DHS, ICE officers were conducting a \u201ctargeted immigration enforcement operation at Castillo-Ormeno\u2019s last known address\u201d when they saw someone \u201cwho looked similar to the target get into a van that departed the residence.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the same day immigration officials doubled down on their previous statements, federal prosecutors in New Jersey charged a different man with \u201cweaponizing his vehicle\u201d to assault an ICE officer.<\/p>\n

They identified the man as 39-year-old Eduardo Cruz Garcia. According to DHS, he is \u201cthe suspect in Monday\u2019s attack on federal law enforcement.\u201d The agency described him as a Mexican national who is not authorized to be in the U.S. Cruz Garcia is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, DHS said.<\/p>\n

A federal complaint alleges Cruz Garcia was driving a white van when immigration officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop. It accuses Cruz Garcia of refusing to open his car\u2019s window, instead fleeing the scene and striking one of the officers with his van.<\/p>\n

Benjamin West, a public defender representing Cruz Garcia, did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday. But he told The New York Times on Wednesday that his client was struck in the back of his right arm after the injured officer fired three shots.<\/p>\n

In regard to Castillo-Ormeno, DHS said it is \u201cglad\u201d he self-deported and encouraged anyone not authorized to be in the country \u201cto take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live American dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

But following the apparent confusion over his identity, Castillo-Ormeno said he worries the incident may affect his chances of returning to the United States in the future or interrupt any processes to get his young daughter, who was born in the United States, her documents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair for my reputation to be tarnished like that,\u201d Castillo-Ormeno said, \u201cespecially because, as I said, it could affect me in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Man was last seen dancing on boat before going overboard in Miami, report says<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno returned to Peru months ago but relatives later told him his name was being linked to a driver who allegedly struck an ICE officer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-immigration"],"yoast_head":"\nImmigrant who self-deported defends himself after ICE said it was seeking his arrest in N.J. - Jacksonville Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1997\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Immigrant who self-deported defends himself after ICE said it was seeking his arrest in N.J. - 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