A 25-year-old worker in Mobile, Alabama, Leonardo Garcia Venegas, claims he was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at his workplace despite asserting his United States citizenship and presenting identification. The incident, which was captured on video and initially reported by Noticias Telemundo, has ignited concerns over potential profiling and the handling of citizenship claims during immigration enforcement actions.
According to the report, ICE officers apprehended Garcia Venegas at a job site. Video footage shows agents handcuffing him while individuals off-camera can be heard stating that he is a citizen. Garcia Venegas told Noticias Telemundo that authorities took his identification from his wallet before handcuffing him and allegedly dismissed it as fraudulent.
Shelah Venegas, Garcia Venegas’ cousin, stated in a social media post that federal authorities disregarded his attempts to identify himself and held him in handcuffs for nearly an hour, despite his repeated claims of citizenship. She further alleged that his English language proficiency and skin color may have been factors in the officers’ disbelief of his identification. “We all made sure we have the REAL ID and went through the protocols the administration is asking for,” she wrote. “He has his REAL ID, and then they see him, and I guess because his English isn’t fluent and/or because he’s brown, it’s fake.”
In a statement provided to NBC News, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asserted that Garcia Venegas had interfered with an arrest that was in progress at the job site. The statement did not provide further details regarding this alleged interference or Garcia Venegas’s citizenship status.
This incident is the latest in a history of cases where US citizens have been wrongly targeted by immigration enforcement. Immigration Impact, a publication of the American Immigration Council, highlighted a case in July 2021 where Davino Watson, a US citizen from New York, was detained in Alabama for three years by ICE before his release. Watson, who did not have legal representation, had to independently prove his citizenship to the agency. Despite a clear violation of ICE’s protocols in that instance, an appeals court ruled that Watson was not entitled to financial compensation due to the statute of limitations.
Organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) have long raised concerns about racial profiling in immigration enforcement and have advocated for stricter oversight and accountability within ICE.
The city of Mobile, Alabama, where the incident occurred, has a diverse population with a significant Hispanic community. The circumstances of Garcia Venegas’ detention continue to raise questions about the processes and safeguards in place to prevent the wrongful detention of US citizens during immigration enforcement operations conducted by ICE. Further investigation into this specific case is anticipated as community advocates and legal experts scrutinize the actions of the federal authorities involved.
ICE officer performing enforcement operation. Photo credit: ICE/Flickr.
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