A Los Angeles high school history teacher who serves as a spokesperson for a local anti-ICE activist group appeared to welcome armed resistance against immigration authorities after a federal agent and an illegal immigrant were shot on Oct. 22.
Ron Gochez, a teacher at Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School and a spokesperson for Union Del Barrio, spoke during a news conference where he criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
“Don’t forget where you’re standing — this is South Central Los Angeles,” he said. “They [ICE] are not the only ones with guns in this city. Don’t forget that. And I don’t say that because I’m calling for violence; I’m saying that because the people have every right to defend themselves against masked, unidentified gunmen.”
“The people have every right to defend themselves,” he repeated. “That’s not violent, that’s intelligent.”
Gochez’s remarks came hours after a U.S. marshal and an illegal immigrant were shot during an enforcement operation.
The suspect, identified as Carlitos Ricardo Parias, 44, of Mexico, allegedly rammed his vehicle into federal vehicles before agents opened fire. One federal agent was struck in the hand, and Parias was hit in the elbow. Bullets fired by a federal agent struck both, authorities said.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin blamed officials in sanctuary jurisdictions for brazen attacks against immigration authorities in recent months.
“These are the consequences of conduct and rhetoric by sanctuary politicians and activists who urge illegal aliens to resist arrest. Resisting arrest puts the safety of illegal aliens, law enforcement, and the public at risk,” she said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Our law enforcement officers are facing a more than 1,000 percent increase in assaults against them, including vehicle rammings by illegal aliens,” she added. “We are once again calling on sanctuary politicians, agitators, and the media to turn the temperature down and stop calling for violence and resistance against ICE law enforcement.”
During an Oct. 22 news conference, Gochez accused federal authorities of using “brutal violence” and “repression” against immigrant communities in Los Angeles.
“It’s not enough for them to kidnap our people, now we are seeing on multiple occasions… that they are shooting us with live rounds,” he said.
Tensions have been on the rise since the ICE Raids began in California, and citizens are growing less and less tolerant of their civil rights being violated.
In September 2025, the Trump administration launched Operation Midway Blitz, a large-scale immigration enforcement operation across the Chicago area. Framed by federal officials as a crackdown on “the worst of the worst,” the raids have sparked fear in immigrant communities, ignited widespread protests, and raised profound questions about civil rights and the limits of federal enforcement authority.
According to DHS, more than 550 individuals were arrested in the first two weeks of the campaign. ICE claimed these arrests targeted gang members, violent offenders, and those with serious criminal records. Yet analyses by journalists and advocacy groups have revealed inconsistencies: some of those detained had no serious charges, others were arrested in entirely different states, and multiple collateral arrests swept up U.S. citizens or lawful residents.
