Sacramento, California - The Department of Justice recently arrested a California man who was shot in the face by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

In a press release shared on Tuesday, the DOJ said Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez (36), a national of El Salvador residing in Stanislaus County, has been charged with assault on a federal officer with a deadly weapon.

Court documents claim federal officers were searching for Mendoza on April 7, 2026, because "he is illegally present" in the US.

After managing to pull him over on the highway, Mendoza allegedly refused to get out of his car as he was being detained and "drove forward and hit an agent with his vehicle."

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Agents then opened fire on the car as Mendoza attempted to drive off, hitting him several times, bringing him to a stop.

While the DOJ has insisted Mendoza was the aggressor in the incident, his attorneys have claimed officers fired shots before the car was moved, prompting Mendoza to try to flee.

The incident comes as part of President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration agenda, in which he has deployed federal agents to Democrat-run cities across the country to carry out deportation sweeps.

If convicted, Mendoza faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Since Trump took office for his second term last year, numerous people have been wounded by immigration agents, including two US citizens who were fatally shot by officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, back in January.

The DOJ and ICE have also been caught lying about arrests on multiple occasions and have faced several lawsuits over their use of force.

The DOJ initially said that Hernandez was a gang member being sought for deportation in connection with a murder in his home country, but they notably did not include the claim in Tuesday's press release.