US citizen seeks $1 million after arrest, detention for recording immigration raid
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) said Wednesday IT WAS preparing to initiate a $1 million lawsuit on behalf of a U.S. citizen detained in Los Angeles after recording a raid at a Home Depot store.
The civil rights organization filed a claim against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding the treatment of Job Garcia, 37, a Ph.D. student and photographer.
MALDEF said immigration officers threw Garcia on the ground, then knelt on his back and neck as they handcuffed him for recording the raid and advising a commercial truck driver being questioned not to exit his vehicle or answer questions from law enforcement.
He was held in custody for more than 24 hours, according to the organization.
“Border Patrol and ICE punished me for informing others of their rights and for exercising my own rights,” Garcia said in a Wednesday release.
AT no time did the agents warn him to move away or to stop recording before his arrest, he said.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Garcia assaulted and verbally harassed a Border Patrol agent and would be prosecuted to the fullest extent.
Sign up for the Morning Report
The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox.By signing up, I agree to the Terms of Use, have reviewed the Privacy Policy, and to receive personalized offers and communications via email, on-site notifications, and targeted advertising using my email address from The Hill, Nexstar Media Inc., and its affiliates
“He was subdued and arrested for assault on a federal agent,” McLaughlin told The Hill.
MALDEF alleges federal agents confined Garcia without legal authority and arrested him without probable cause in a racially motivated incident.
Attorneys said his constitutional rights were potentially violated, including the right to free speech, the right to remain silent, the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, and the right to due process under the First, Fourth and Fifth amendments.
Garcia’s lawyers say he suffered economic losses and personal injury as a result.
“Border Patrol and ICE punished Job Garcia simply for exercising his right to record a discriminatory immigration raid at Home Depot,” said Ernest Herrera, MALDEF Western Regional Counsel.
“The Trump Administration must be stopped in its campaign of terror against those who disagree with mass deportations.”
Updated July 3 at 6:01 a.m. EDT
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
