A dramatic immigration enforcement action in California has sparked outrage after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Isidro Jimenez-Ibanez, the illegal immigrant husband of Coachella City Councilwoman Yadira Perez, in a Walmart parking lot. The arrest, captured on video, has added fuel to the national debate over sanctuary policies and California’s ongoing battle with federal immigration enforcement.
Jimenez-Ibanez, 51, originally entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico and has a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions for domestic violence, DUI, and assault with a deadly weapon. According to federal authorities, he was targeted in a “specific enforcement action” due to his extensive criminal history.
NEW: California councilwoman’s illegal immigrant husband gets arrested by federal agents in a Walmart parking lot.
Yadira Perez is distraught as her husband, Isidro Jimenez-Ibanez, now faces deportation.
Jimenez-Ibanez has an “extensive criminal record,” as reported by Newsweek… pic.twitter.com/iGgprd4Cn1
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 5, 2025
Notably, this isn’t his first brush with immigration law. He was deported in 1995 after being convicted of methamphetamine possession for sale but later illegally re-entered the U.S. In 2022, he was convicted again—this time for assault with a deadly weapon in Riverside County.
Despite this long history of offenses, his wife, Councilwoman Yadira Perez, remains furious over his arrest, insisting that he had already “paid for” his crimes and was simply trying to live a normal life.
“Whatever he did, he paid for it,” Perez said. “And he had been here doing everything he had to do. We did our taxes.”
The fallout from the arrest didn’t stop with her outrage—Perez resigned from her position at the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department shortly after the arrest. Having worked for the department for nearly two decades, she stepped down after learning she was under internal investigation for her potential involvement in the case.
Her status on the Coachella City Council remains uncertain, as local officials have yet to comment on whether she will remain in her elected position.
Jimenez-Ibanez’s arrest is part of a broader federal push to remove criminal illegal immigrants from the U.S. Under President Donald Trump’s renewed immigration policies, ICE has ramped up enforcement efforts, with a particular focus on those who have been convicted of serious crimes.
California’s sanctuary policies, which shield illegal immigrants from deportation, have long clashed with federal enforcement priorities. While progressive lawmakers continue to defend these protections, federal officials argue that sanctuary policies endanger public safety by allowing violent offenders to remain in the country
