Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Florida was arrested Wednesday, accused of grabbing a man by the neck during a confrontation that began with a dispute over driving, according to information obtained by Newsweek and an arrest affidavit. Alexander Rivera Rios, 50, was charged with battery by strangulation following the altercation outside an Orlando apartment complex on August 26. He was arrested by the Orlando Police Department and taken to the Orange County jail on a no-bond status, the affidavit said.
It was unclear if the ICE agent was on duty at the time of his arrest. The case was filed in Orange County Circuit Court. Sources familiar with the matter identified Rivera Rios to Newsweek as a deportation officer with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division.
The source said he joined the agency in 2007 and previously worked in New York before transferring to ICE’s Miami Field Office and working in the Orlando area. Newsweek obtained an internal agency screenshot that appeared to show an ICE directory listing for an Alexander Rivera. The listing included an ICE email address, the abbreviation "DO," commonly used by the agency for deportation officer, "ERO" and a reference to the Orlando Hub Office.
ICE’s ERO division is responsible for immigration arrests, detention and removals. The Department of Homeland Security and ICE were asked by Newsweek to confirm Rivera Rios’ employment, current duty status and whether the agency had taken administrative action following his arrest. The agencies did not immediately respond.
The arrest affidavit itself does not identify Rivera Rios’ employer or mention ICE. Its occupation and business-address fields were left blank. An attorney was not listed for Rivera Rios at time of publication.
Orlando police Officer Mark Knott responded shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday to a report of a disturbance at an apartment complex on Raleigh Street, according to the affidavit. Jailton Rodrigues told police that he had been inside his apartment when his wife called and said a man was "aggressively yelling" at her in the parking lot.
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