Tased, choked and held: Video shows US citizen, his friends being detained in Florida
The incident, caught on Laynez-Ambrosio's phone, has sparked widespread outrage and renewed scrutiny of immigration enforcement tactics under the Trump administration.
Laynez-Ambrosio was driving with his mother and two male friends to a landscaping job in North Palm Beach when their van was pulled over. Florida Highway Patrol called for backup after checking IDs, and US Border Patrol agents soon arrived.
In the video footage, officers in tactical gear can be seen violently detaining the men, two of whom are undocumented. One man is put in a chokehold, another appears to be stunned with a Taser, and officers can be heard telling Laynez-Ambrosio: 'You've got no rights here. You're a migo, brother.'
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Moments later, officers are heard laughing about the incident and joking about possible bonuses: 'You can smell that … $30,000 bonus.'
Laynez-Ambrosio was also pushed to the ground, threatened with a stun gun, and held in custody for six hours. His two friends were transferred to the Krome detention centre in Miami. Laynez-Ambrosio believes they've since been released on bail.
Laynez-Ambrosio hadn't planned to record the encounter. 'I already had my phone out to show my mom a silly TikTok,' he said, but hit record when officers grew aggressive.
'One of the officers put his hand inside the window, popped the door open, grabbed my friend by the neck and had him in a chokehold.'
A report by The Guardian further added that despite identifying himself as a US citizen — 'I was born and raised right here' — Laynez-Ambrosio was arrested and later charged with obstruction without violence. He was sentenced to 10 hours of community service and an anger management course. While in detention, officers allegedly pressured him to delete the footage. He refused.
His attorney, Jack Scarola, believes the charge was retaliation: 'Kenny was charged with filming [and was] alleged to have interfered with the activities of law enforcement. But there was no intended interference – merely the exercise of a right to record what was happening.'
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The footage shows officers making light of the violence. One Border Patrol agent can be heard saying, 'They're starting to resist more now,' to which another replies: 'We're going to end up shooting some of them.'
Later, officers cheer: 'Goddamn! Woo! Nice!'
It's unclear what bonus they were referencing, though Trump's latest spending bill allocates billions for ICE, including recruitment incentives and bonuses.
The Florida Highway Patrol, CBP and ICE declined to comment, The Guardian reported. But critics say the episode reflects the broader risks of state-federal cooperation on immigration enforcement.
As per a report, in February, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a deal with the Department of Homeland Security to allow state troopers to be trained and empowered by ICE to detain immigrants — part of a broader push to deputize local police in immigration enforcement. Florida has the most such agreements in the country.
Father Frank O'Loughlin, director of the Guatemalan-Maya Center, said the arrest showcases the human cost of politicised immigration policy: 'This is a story about the corruption of law enforcement by MAGA and the brutality of state and federal troopers – formerly public servants – towards nonviolent people.'
Laynez-Ambrosio, still shaken, said he recorded the incident to protect his friends, neither of whom speak English well.
'I wasn't really worried about myself because I knew I was going to get out of the situation. But I was worried about him. I could speak up for him but not fight back, because I would've made the situation worse,' Laynez-Ambrosio said.
Despite the trauma, he hopes the footage brings awareness: 'It didn't need to go down like that. If they knew that my people were undocumented, they could've just kindly taken them out of the car and arrested them. It hurt me bad to see my friends like that. Because they're just good people, trying to earn an honest living.'
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