DETROIT, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Officials say a Venezuelan man who entered the country illegally allegedly grabbed a federal agent’s gun during a sweep in Utica on March 4.

The struggle, which officials also say injured two investigators, involved 34-year-old Arnoldo Marquez-Pulido. He faces assault charges along with resisting or impeding an officer, and possessing a firearm as an illegal alien. A conviction could land Marquez-Pulido in federal prison for 20 years. He is being held at the Calhoun County Correctional Facility and is scheduled for a hearing on Friday.

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“Some say that enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is unfair because illegal aliens are all harmless. [These] allegations break that narrative,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon said in a statement to the media. “High speed flight from arrest, fighting federal agents, and grabbing an agent’s gun are not ‘harmless.’ And what’s ‘unfair’ is the fact that Americans pay the price for dangerous illegal aliens.”

An investigation showed Marquez-Pulido entered the U.S. in California in April 2024; he admitted he did not have permission to be in the country. Court filings say that officials released Marquez-Pulido but he did not appear for a removal hearing in April 2025.