Federal Prosecutors Charge Honduran Man in Hammer Assault on ICE Officers During NJ Traffic Stop

A 27-year-old Honduran national appeared in federal court in Camden Monday on charges he attacked immigration officers with a hammer during a traffic stop in Gibbsboro earlier this month, marking the latest in a series of violent confrontations during immigration enforcement operations in the region.

Reinieri De Jesus Licona Amador faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted of assaulting federal officers with a dangerous weapon. U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal presided over the initial appearance, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.

The criminal complaint alleges that on Oct. 4, ICE officers conducting a targeted operation ran a license plate check on a truck traveling through Gibbsboro. The vehicle was registered to Licona Amador, and immigration database checks indicated he lacked lawful status in the United States.

Officers initiated a traffic stop. As they approached, prosecutors say Licona Amador reached into a tool container in the back seat and retrieved a hammer. When ordered to stop moving, he allegedly refused, moved to the passenger side of the vehicle, climbed onto the door frame, and swung the hammer repeatedly at the officers.

Officers deployed oleoresin capsicum spray — commonly known as pepper spray — and physically subdued him. No injuries were reported.

The case unfolds against a backdrop of heightened tension around ICE enforcement tactics in New Jersey. The state’s Immigrant Trust Directive, issued by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in 2018 and strengthened in 2021, limits state and local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. But it does not restrict federal agents from conducting their own operations.

ICE’s Newark field office, which covers New Jersey, has increased targeted enforcement actions in recent years. Federal data shows administrative arrests by the office rose 34% between fiscal years 2022 and 2024, though they remain well below peaks seen during the first Trump administration.

Immigration advocates argue that traffic stops based solely on database checks for immigration status blur the line between criminal and civil enforcement. “ICE is using minor vehicle infractions or registration checks as pretext for immigration arrests,” said Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. “These operations create fear in communities and can escalate dangerously.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office emphasized the gravity of the charges. “Federal officers put themselves in harm’s way to enforce the law and protect the public,” U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said in a statement. “When an individual responds to a traffic stop by attacking an officer with a hammer, that conduct threatens not only the officer’s safety but the rule of law itself.”

Licona Amador remains in federal detention. A detention hearing is scheduled for later this week. If convicted, he would face mandatory removal proceedings following any prison term.

The Gibbsboro incident follows two other high-profile confrontations in the region this year. In September, a Guatemalan national in Philadelphia allegedly rammed an ICE vehicle during an attempted arrest, prompting an agent to discharge a firearm. In August, a suspected gang member from El Salvador was arrested after allegedly ramming an ICE officer’s vehicle in Pennsylvania.