Armed immigration agents forcibly entered an Oxnard auto body shop and arrested a man while a U.S. citizen filmed. The filmer alleged the agents pepper-sprayed him, slammed him onto vehicle hoods, punched his face, and kneed him. A local attorney later described a separate raid on a cannabis company where she identified herself as a legal observer. She alleged agents or possibly the National Guard deployed tear gas and shot her six times with rubber bullets, causing severe pain and recovery needs. Multiple U.S. citizens and immigrants are seeking financial compensation for injuries, medical costs, lost wages, and mental health treatment. Public accounts and legal documents indicate claims totaling at least $260 million. Homeland Security stated officers meet high professional standards and training, and denied a pattern of law enforcement using force.
"Armed immigration agents broke the locks to forcibly enter an Oxnard auto body shop. Juan Carlos Ramirez, a U.S. citizen, filmed as they arrested his father. Then the agents pepper-sprayed Ramirez, slammed him onto the hoods of two vehicles, punched his face and kneed him in the side, according to a legal claim he later filed against the federal government."
"Despite identifying herself as a legal observer, she said, agents - or possibly National Guard - deployed tear gas and shot her six times with rubber bullets. She ran and then, unable to see, crawled on all fours to escape. "They were just shooting aimlessly, it seemed like," she said. "I thought maybe they had fractured a rib because that's how painful it was. I couldn't sleep face down for three weeks.""
"Ramirez and Valdez are among the dozens of U.S. citizens and immigrants who are seeking financial compensation for damages they say they suffered during President Trump's immigration dragnet. For Valdez, that includes the cost of hospital visits, lost wages as she recovered, anxiety medication and seeing a therapist. After reviewing public accounts and legal documents and interviews with more than a dozen lawyers and immigrants, The Times found that claimants from across the country are seeking at least $260 million."
"In a statement, Homeland Security spokesperson Lauren Bis wrote that ICE officers are held to the highest professional standard and receive regular training. Bis said that when agents are faced with danger, they use their training to protect themselves and the public. "The pattern is NOT of law enforcement using force. It's a pattern of violent agitators attacking our law enforcement," she wrote."
#immigration-enforcement #use-of-force-allegations #legal-observer-incidents #ice-operations #compensation-claims
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