Nicaraguan man accused of assaulting 3 ICE officers in San Jose
Immigration office on Blossom Hill Road in San Jose.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A Nicaraguan man has been charged by federal prosecutors with assaulting three ICE officers in San Jose - specifically grabbing one of the deportation officer's testicles who cried out, "Let go of my balls!"
Francisco De-Jesus Morales, 25, is due back in court on Monday before U. S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen in San Jose.
He is being represented by federal public defender Sophia Whiting, who did not immediately respond for comment.
He has not yet entered a plea.
Assault charge
Morales was charged June 12 with assaulting a federal officer and being held without bail for what federal officials alleged occurred on May 2 on Blossom Hill Road in San Jose.
Special Agent for Homeland Security Investigations Nihad Custo wrote in an affadavit that on that day, federal agents had determined that Morales was ordered by a San Francisco immigration judge in March to be removed from the United States back to his native land of Nicaragua.
Morales didn't show up to his final removal hearing, according to the affidavit, and the immigration judge entered the order even though he wasn't there. A warrant was issued for Morales' deportation.
The affidavit did not state whether Morales had any other criminal history, other than being in the country illegally.
On May 1, an ICE contractor, who was not named in the court filing, got in touch with Morales and asked him to report to the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations center on Blossom Hill Road in San Jose and turn in a phone that immigration authorities had given him while he was awaiting a court's ruling on his immigration status, according to court filings.
Morales agreed to show up the next day.
Three plainclothes ICE officers were there the morning of May 2, and the plan was to detain Morales in as "low-key and safe of a manner as possible," Custo wrote to the court. He identified the officers only as A, B and C.
Protesters enter the ICE building on Blossom Hill Road in San Jose. June 6, 2025
The struggle
Morales signed in at the reception desk at 8:30 a.m. and the officers escorted him to a conference room, according to the complaint.
Deportation Officer A put his hands on Morales' shoulder and told him in Spanish he was being detained and tried to cuff him behind his back, the complaint states.
Morales pulled his arms away and swung his left elbow into Officer A, causing him to lose his footing and stumble, the complaint alleges.
Officers A and B then tried to "bear hug" Morales in order to restrain him, and all three fell to the floor, Custo wrote.
While on the floor, Morales struggled with the officers.
Custo alleged that Morales grabbed at Officer A's waistband and his "hand contacted" the officer's gun.
Morales then turned to leave the facility, but deportation officer C arrived and grabbed him, according to the complaint.
The testicles
All three officers were now struggling with Morales, and it was at this point that Morales "forcibly grabbed, squeezed, pulled and twisted Deportation Officer C's testicles," the affidavit alleges.
"Deportation Officer C yelled, ‘Let go of my balls!’ or words to that effect," according to the complaint.
Officers A and C punched Morales in the head and body many times, the complaint states, and then officer A grabbed Morales' testicles.
At that point, Morales let go of the officer's balls.
Custo said that Officer A suffered a hairline fracture or strain to his left ankle, Officer B was bruised on his knees and a contusion in his chest and Officer C suffered bruising on his testicles and back. Two of the officers have missed days of work following the struggle.
Morales suffered a cut to his face.
No video evidence was mentioned in the complaint and Custo said his affidavit was based on interviews with the three officers, as well as "other witnesses" at the facility, presumably other Homeland Security employees.
Anti-ICE protesters rally outside immigration office on Blossom Hill Road in San Jose. June 6, 2025
Site of anti-ICE protests
The Blossom Hill Road facility has been the recent site of anti-ICE protests.
On June 6, protesters gathered outside the immigration office, chanting "shut ICE down!" in an unsuccessful effort to close the building down.
The removal of individuals and families has stoked a growing fear in the South Bay and beyond, according to advocates and community activists.
"These raids are not about justice or security. They are about terrorizing our communities," said Leila, a member of the Silicon Valley Immigration Committee.