{"id":1403621,"date":"2026-02-05T05:57:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T10:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/?p=1403621&preview=true&preview_id=1403621"},"modified":"2026-02-05T05:57:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T10:57:55","slug":"el-monte-activist-alleges-ice-officers-broke-her-car-window-pointed-weapons-at-her","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/05\/el-monte-activist-alleges-ice-officers-broke-her-car-window-pointed-weapons-at-her\/","title":{"rendered":"California activist alleges ICE officers broke her car window, pointed weapons at her"},"content":{"rendered":"
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El Monte resident Maria Santay, who said she is a U.S. citizen, alleges that federal officers intimidated her and livestreamed her Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, encounter with them. (Courtesy of GoFundMe)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An El Monte resident, U.S. citizen and community organizer alleges she was intimidated by immigration officers in an encounter she livestreamed on her Instagram account<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Maria Santay was driving Friday, Jan. 30, along Valley Boulevard in El Monte, keeping a watch for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, when she had what she called an \u201calarming, traumatic\u201d encounter with them. Santay and supporters said she was peacefully alerting local vendors to the enforcement activity when it occurred.<\/p>\n

According to the video and news reports, Santay was approached by ICE officers, who she said were following her car. She drove toward the El Monte police station and began the livestream<\/a>, when masked officers surrounded her car, boxed her in, drew their weapons and<\/span> <\/span>demanded she get out of the car before they broke through the window with a hammer and arrested her. The video also shows El Monte police later in the encounter and the video shows they did not get involved.<\/p>\n

It happened by the Chevron station parking lot<\/a> at Peck Road and Valley Boulevard around 2 p.m., Santay said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re slowly following me. They\u2019re wasting their tax dollars on me \u2026 trying to intimidate me,\u201d Santay tells the camera. \u201cThey\u2019re drawing their guns on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through tears, she also says in the video, while trembling: \u201cThis is unbelievable. I\u2019m a U.S. citizen. This is insane. They\u2019re going to try to arrest me \u2026 Lord, please protect me. I don\u2019t trust them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Multiple requests for comment from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which manages ICE and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, were not returned Sunday, Feb. 1, or Monday, Feb. 2. Jason Givens, a spokesperson with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, confirmed via email receiving a request for comment, but as of Monday evening had not provided a response.<\/p>\n

Santay, who could not be reached Monday, Feb. 2, told ABC7<\/a> that she feared for her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, this was it. These are my last moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey threw me in their car, we got on the 10 Freeway, they took me all the way on a joy ride \u2026 and then they get off on an exit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Santay was released later that day. <\/span>The charges against her, according to news reports, include resisting arrest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was unnecessary \u2014 I feel unsafe. He should have never, ever, ever pointed a gun at me,\u201d Santay told<\/a> L.A. Taco. \u201cBecause there\u2019s no force. I am harmless, I am 125 pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

A GoFundMe<\/a> account \u2014 which over the weekend had already been fully funded and raised nearly $10,000 as of Monday \u2014 was set up by Santay\u2019s friends and fellow organizers to help cover her car damages, legal fees, emotional distress and lost income.<\/p>\n

Two days before the incident, Santay told the news media that she had been stopped by ICE officers while driving on the 10 Freeway and they told her it was \u201cher first warning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTurns out they weren\u2019t stopping me; they were just intimidating me,\u201d she later said.<\/p>\n

On the GoFundMe page, organizers wrote that Santay was \u201cpeacefully observing and alerting local vendors and community members to immigration enforcement activity \u2014 an act that is legal and protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWitnesses report that El Monte Police Department was present and failed to intervene,\u201d the GoFundMe account alleges.<\/p>\n