A U.S. citizen is suing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies for $1 million, claiming he was violently arrested and illegally detained simply for recording an immigration raid at a Home Depot in Los Angeles.
Job Garcia, 37, a Ph.D. student and photographer, was at the store when he saw federal agents questioning a truck driver. Garcia pulled out his phone and began filming. He also advised the driver not to answer questions or leave his vehicle.
That’s when everything changed.
According to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), agents slammed Garcia to the ground, knelt on his back and neck, and handcuffed him — all without a single warning.
“Border Patrol and ICE punished me for informing others of their rights and for exercising my own rights,” Garcia said.
He was held for more than 24 hours.
DHS claims Garcia wasn’t just filming. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “He was subdued and arrested for assault on a federal agent.” She accused Garcia of physically and verbally attacking a Border Patrol officer, and said he would be “prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
But Garcia says that’s not what happened. And MALDEF says the arrest was illegal, racially motivated, and a direct attack on his rights.
“Border Patrol and ICE punished Job Garcia simply for exercising his right to record a discriminatory immigration raid at Home Depot,” said Ernest Herrera, Western Regional Counsel for MALDEF.
Garcia’s legal team says his constitutional rights were violated — including his rights to free speech, to remain silent, to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and to due process.
They say he suffered physical and emotional harm, as well as economic losses.
MALDEF is also calling out the broader pattern behind the arrest. “The Trump Administration must be stopped in its campaign of terror against those who disagree with mass deportations,” Herrera said.
Garcia is demanding justice — and $1 million in damages — for what he says was an illegal act of intimidation by federal agents.
