A Jacksonville woman has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for assaulting a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer and a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper during a joint immigration enforcement operation in January, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement on October 20. Jennifer Susan Cruz was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $5,592 in restitution. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida announced the sentence on October 14.

According to DHS and court reporting from the U.S. Department of Justice, the incident happened on January 13 in Jacksonville, Florida, during a joint operation involving ICE, CBP and FHP personnel. During a traffic stop, Cruz, a U.S. citizen, got out of her car and punched an FHP trooper in the face. Prosecutors said the trooper suffered injuries to the face, ear, nose and left hand and later received hospital treatment.

As officers restrained and arrested her, Cruz continued resisting, kicking an ICE officer — who suffered an injury to his left hand — and a CBP officer, and then kicking the ceiling, windows and interior camera of the patrol vehicle, prosecutors said. A trooper deployed a taser during the struggle. Cruz pleaded guilty to charges related to assaulting officers conducting an immigration operation.

"Assaulting law enforcement officers who are carrying out their lawful duties is intolerable," said HSI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tim Hemker. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe said that by refusing to comply with lawful commands and assaulting officers during the operation, the defendant caused physical harm to officers and placed the public at risk. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the sentence should serve as a warning to anyone who interferes with immigration enforcement and attacks officers.

The case was investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and the Florida Highway Patrol, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.

Sources: U.S. Department of Homeland Security statement, October 20, 2026; U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida / U.S. Department of Justice reporting.