US citizen arrested twice at work by immigration officers in Alabama, suit says
Federal immigration authorities arrested a man twice at his construction worksite, after he informed/officers he was a U.S. citizen and showed his REAL ID, in a span of about three weeks, a new federal class-action lawsuit says.
Leo Garcia Venegas, who was born in Lee County, Florida, and lives and works in Baldwin County, Alabama, was violently detained May 21 and on June 12 during two immigration raids, according to a complaint filed Sept. 30 in the Southern District of Alabama.
Officers raided the private worksites without warrants, in violation of the Fourth Amendment, the complaint argues.
They “rounded up all the workers who looked Latino — even citizens, like Leo, who had done nothing wrong,” Venegas’ attorneys with the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm, wrote in the complaint.
Five officers who detained Venegas during both raids would not accept his state-issued REAL ID as proof of citizenship and said it was fake, according to the filing.
They had no reason to suspect Venegas was undocumented, the complaint says.
‘Just want to work in peace’
Venegas’ first arrest took an emotional toll on him and he did not return to work for two weeks, according to the complaint, which says he feared being wrongly arrested again before he was a second time on June 12.
“It feels like there is nothing I can do to stop immigration agents from arresting me whenever they want,” Venegas said in a news release shared by the Institute for Justice. “I just want to work in peace. The Constitution protects my ability to do that.”
The lawsuit argues the U.S. Department of Homeland Security allows armed immigration raids at construction sites “based on the general assumption that certain groups of people in the industry, including Latinos, are likely illegal immigrants.”
The lawsuit cites a series of news reports about other citizens caught in raids.
The filing names the DHS, the Department of Justice and leaders of federal law enforcement agencies including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as defendants.
In a statement to McClatchy News on Oct. 2, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin denied accusationsof DHS officers engaging in racial profiling.
“What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S. — NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity,” McLaughlin said.
She denounced the lawsuit as a form of “race-baiting opportunism.”
In an Oct. 1 news release, the DHS criticized a report from The New York Times, which mentions Venegas and other U.S. citizens detained by immigration authorities, as “false.”
Referring to Venegas’ arrest during one raid described as a “targeted worksite operation,” the DHS said Venegas “attempted to obstruct and prevent the lawful arrest of an illegal alien.”
Arrest caught on video
On May 21, Venegas and four other workers, who are also Latino, including Venegas’ brother, were laying foundation at a private site in Foley when immigration officers showed up, according to the complaint.
At the time, a crew of other workers, including two who were white and two who were Black, were delivering concrete, the filing says.
Around 8 a.m., Venegas saw five armed camouflaged officers jump over a fence at his worksite, according to the complaint.
The officers “ran right past the white and black workers without detaining them and went straight for the Latino workers,” the complaint says.
Then two officers detained Venegas’ brother and brought him to the ground, according to the complaint.
After Venegas started recording and headed toward his brother, one officer began to follow Venegas, the complaint says.
“You’re making this more complicated than you want to,” the officer said, according to the filing.
The comment is captured on Venegas’ cell phone footage published by the Institute for Justice.
The video then shows the masked officer, who was with Homeland Security Investigations, struggling with Venegas.
The officer grabbed Venegas’ arm and forced it behind his back as Venegas protested and called out for help, according to the complaint. Then the officer took him down to the ground.
“I’ll show my papers, now,” Venegas is heard saying in the footage. “I’m a citizen. I’m a citizen.”
The lawsuit says “the non-Latino members of Leo’s crew (none of whom any officers ever approached) looked on and yelled, ‘That’s illegal!’” as they watched the arrest unfold.
Third-person footage from their perspective, published by the Institute for Justice, shows two other officers join in physically detaining Venegas as the crew members are heard repeatedly saying he is a citizen.
After rejecting his ID, the officers handcuffed Venegas and held him outside for more than an hour, according to the lawsuit.
He was released after they checked his Social Security number, the filing says.
The second arrest
Venegas was detained again by immigration officers when he was working alone inside a home being built in Fairhope on June 12, according to the lawsuit.
Venegas was in a back bedroom, wearing headphones, when he turned around and saw a masked officer who told him to come outside, the complaint says.
He explained to the officer he was a citizen, then noticed another officer outside, according to the complaint.
Venegas was ultimately detained for about 30 minutes, after officers rejected his REAL ID, the complaint says.
“Armed and masked federal officers are raiding private construction sites in Alabama, detaining whoever they think looks undocumented, and ignoring proof of citizenship,” Institute for Justice attorney Jared McClain said in a statement. “That’s unconstitutional, and this case seeks to bring that practice to an end.”
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