Undocumented immigrant accused of assaulting ICE officers in Howard County

An undocumented immigrant from El Salvador allegedly assaulted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers after they say he refused to get out of his vehicle in January in Howard County.

Santos Alvarenga-Rodriguez, 47, is facing charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.

Alvarenga-Rodriguez is also accused of biting an officer and causing a laceration to another officer's nose.

Resisting arrest

On January 18, ICE officers checked Alvarenga-Rodriguez's license plate, and his license, which revealed that he may not be legally present in the United States, according to the criminal complaint.

Officers conducted a traffic stop and told Alvarenga-Rodriguez to get out of the vehicle, but he refused, according to the complaint. That's when ICE says Alvarenga-Rodriguez started the vehicle and put it in drive before officers prevented him from taking off.