U.S. citizen seeks $1 million after arrest, detention for recording immigration raid
The civil rights organization filed a claim against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding the treatment of Job Garcia, 37, a Ph.D. student and photographer.
MALDEF said immigration officers threw Garcia on the ground, then knelt on his back and neck as they handcuffed him for recording the raid and advising a commercial truck driver being questioned not to exit his vehicle or answer questions from law enforcement.
He was held in custody for more than 24 hours, according to the organization.
'Border Patrol and ICE punished me for informing others of their rights and for exercising my own rights,' Garcia said in a Wednesday release.
He claimed that at no time did the agents warn him to move away or to stop recording before his arrest.
DHS did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the matter.
MALDEF alleges that federal agents confined Garcia without legal authority and arrested him without probable cause in a racially motivated effort.
Attorneys said his constitutional rights were potentially violated, including the right to free speech, the right to remain silent, the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, and the right to due process under the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments.
As a result, Garcia's lawyers say he suffered economic losses and personal injury.
'Border Patrol and ICE punished Job Garcia simply for exercising his right to record a discriminatory immigration raid at Home Depot,' said Ernest Herrera, MALDEF Western Regional Counsel.
'The Trump Administration must be stopped in its campaign of terror against those who disagree with mass deportations.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
2 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
Trump's ‘Law and Order' Push in D.C. Looks a Lot Like an Immigration Raid
WASHINGTON—In the neighborhood of Mount Pleasant, which has a large Hispanic population, a local plaza has become the center of a standoff between residents and federal immigration officers deployed under President Trump's security crackdown in the capital. Since the administration's law-enforcement surge in Washington began last week, federal agents have swarmed the surrounding streets. More than a half-dozen Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in masks and sunglasses were at the plaza this past Friday, posing for a videographer before tearing down an anti-ICE banner.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Man impersonated cop, threatened to call ICE and sexually assaulted woman, Santa Rosa police say
Santa Rosa police arrested a man suspected of sexually assaulting a woman after falsely identifying himself as a police officer, authorities said Wednesday. In early August, a woman reported to the Santa Rosa Police Department that she was a victim of a sexual assault in early July, officers said in a Wednesday press release. The woman explained to police that while she was sleeping in her vehicle on the 90 block of Montgomery, a man, who identified himself as the 'police,' forced his way into the vehicle while threatening to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The man, wearing a uniform and a badge, sexually assaulted the woman, police said. The man was later identified as Peni Cere, 42, a Santa Rosa resident. Fearful of ICE being contacted, the woman had been scared to report the incident until a family member convinced her to file a report, police said. In their investigations, SRPD officers discovered that Cere worked as a security guard at several places across Santa Rosa, often during night shifts. Officers arrested Cere while he was exiting a vehicle in a parking lot on the 1100 block of College Avenue, police said. Cere was booked into Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility for assault with attempt to commit rape and threatening arrest or deportation to commit sexual assault, police said. A judge authorized his bail to be enhanced to $250,000. Given the details of this case, police said, they believe there may be more victims of Cere's and are encouraging them to come forward. 'We encourage all victims and witnesses of crimes to come forward, regardless of immigration status,' police wrote in the Wednesday press release. 'Pursuant to the California Values Act (SB 54), the Santa Rosa Police Department is prohibited from assisting in federal immigration enforcement efforts, including investigations, detentions, or arrests based solely on an individual's immigration status.'
CBS News
3 hours ago
- CBS News
Southern California attorneys file legal claims against U.S. government for civil rights violations during immigration enforcement
Attorneys representing six people in Southern California announced the filing of legal claims against the United States government for civil rights violations during federal immigrant enforcement operations earlier in the summer. Attorney Luis Carrillo said during a Wednesday news conference that his clients were wrongfully detained and beaten by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other federal authorities during raids that occurred in June and July. "We have filed government federal tort claims on behalf of five U.S. citizens and one legal permanent resident who were racially profiled by ICE and border patrol agents in various communities in the Southland," attorney Michael Carrillo said from his Pasadena law office. A federal tort claim is a legal action preceding a formal lawsuit against the government. The agency involved can either approve, deny or offer a settlement. If the agency rejects the claim or the claimant is unsatisfied with the settlement, their legal counsel can file a lawsuit against the government. Luis Carrillo described federal agents involved in roving patrols. "They were going after hard-working people at the Home Depots, they go after hard-working agricultural workers in the fields," he said. "Today is the beginning of justice for our people in these specific cases." Attorneys said agents should not have detained their clients in the first place. Federal prosecutors dropped all charges against their clients. Some of those represented in the claim spoke at Wednesday's news conference. One U.S. citizen said he was held in federal prison for five days after his June 12 detainment. Javier Ramires said he was born in San Bernardino and lives in both East Los Angeles and Tijuana. He said he exports cars into Mexico, and federal agents came into the Southern California tow yard where he works on June 12. "I told them, I have all my documents, why am I being detained?" Ramires said. "They didn't have any charges or anything like that." Cary Lopez Alvarado, a U.S. citizen, spoke at Wednesday's news conference while holding her infant. She was nine months pregnant when she was detained by federal agents on June 8. "I didn't want them to hurt my stomach because I had my baby there," she said. Attorneys said agents claimed she was interfering with a law enforcement officer while executing his duties, but she ultimately was never charged. On June 24, Andrea Velez, a U.S. citizen, "was detained wrongfully, without a warrant, and bogus charges were added when she was just on her way to work," attorneys said. Velez said she asked for a warrant, badge number and identification, but the agent did not provide her with any information. She said she was never asked for her identification. "They just wanted to arrest me and put me inside the car," Velez said at Wednesday's news conference. Attorneys said the recently filed claims allege a pattern of civil rights violations due to the unlawful racial profiling of Latino U.S. citizens. Los Angeles city and county, along with several other cities, including Pasadena, have already joined a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics. Related: 13 cities join federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to the CBS News Los Angeles for comment.
