Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents wrestled a US-born citizen to the ground, handcuffed him and dismissed his Real ID as “fake” during an operation on Wednesday.
Leonardo Garcia Venegas, 25, who was born in Florida to Mexican parents, was reportedly on a job site in Foley, Alabama when ICE agents arrived to arrest undocumented migrants there. Garcia was recording the arrests on his cell phone before an agent knocked it from his hand and arrested him.
Video of Garcia’s arrest, which was aired by Noticias Telemundo, showed officers physically restraining him as someone off camera yelled “he’s a citizen.”
Garcia told Noticias Telemundo that he showed agents his ID but they told him it was fake before cuffing him.
“Apparently a REAL ID is not valid anymore. He has a REAL ID,” his cousin Shelah Venegas told NBC News. “We all made sure we have the REAL ID and went through the protocols the administration is asking for. … 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, it’s not real.”
Garcia was released from custody hours later after telling authorities his social security number which further verifies his citizenship.
“I feel really sad, honestly, and I feel a bit nervous for everything that’s happening,” Garcia said. His brother, who is undocumented, was arrested and remains in custody.
In a statement to NBC News Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary, suggested agents did nothing wrong because Garcia interfered with the operation.
“He physically got in between agents and the subject they were attempting to arrest and refused to comply with numerous verbal commands,” said McLaughlin. “Anyone who actively obstructs law enforcement in the performance of their sworn duties, including U.S. citizens, will of course face consequences which include arrest.”
But, Garcia told NBC that he was trying to take out his phone when an agent took it and threw it to the ground before they arrested him. Garcia denied McLaughlin’s claim that he interrupted an arrest.
