Surveillance camera and cell phone footage captured the May 6 Bronx incident in which ICE agents detained an American citizen at gunpoint.
American citizen arrested twice by ICE sues Trump administration
An American who was twice arrested by ICE despite having valid identification is suing the Trump administration.
Federal immigration authorities forcibly detained an American citizen in New York City in early May, leading Democratic lawmakers to demand an investigation into the incident.
Surveillance camera and cell phone footage released by multiple news outlets captured the May 6 incident in which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pulled Julie Concepcion to the ground with their weapons drawn and detained her in the Bronx. The case has once again raised questions about Americans detained by ICE during the Trump administration’s expanded immigration crackdown across the country.
Concepcion told NBC New York that he was followed by several masked ICE agents on his way to get a haircut, and then three agents pushed him onto the sidewalk. Cellphone video showed officers pushing a handcuffed man with blood on his forehead into an unmarked sedan.
“They threw me on the floor,” Concepcion later told News 12. “I don’t know what happened,” he said, adding that police did not ask for identification.
Concepcion told reporters that he only realized the mistake when agents looked at his ID and cell phone. ICE then dropped him off at an unknown park. Concepcion later told reporters that he needed stitches in his head.
“I’m from New York, I grew up here, I was born here,” he told News 12. “There’s no reason I shouldn’t go through anything like this, you heard.”
DHS: Man was ‘belligerent and refused to identify himself’
The Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, said in an emailed statement that it is not falsely arresting American citizens.
At the time, ICE was conducting what DHS called a targeted enforcement operation when it encountered a man “matching the subject’s physical description outside the subject’s residence,” the agency said in a statement.
When officials approached him, DHS said he “became combative and refused to identify himself.”
“A large crowd of anti-ICE activists descended and swarmed the officers. In the interest of safety, the officers briefly detained the individual and safely finished questioning him. He was released as soon as the officers finished questioning him.”
DHS did not respond to questions about the need for American citizens to identify themselves to immigration officials or the tactics that later resulted in Concepcion needing stitches.
Concepcion could not be reached at the Bronx address listed on his ID.
Lawmaker says ICE case exposes ‘deep corruption’
Rep. Richie Torres (D-N.Y.), who represents the Bronx, said in a letter dated May 8 that there was an incident nearby in which ICE agents detained another person who was attempting to enter the building. Torres said ICE’s actions in both cases “exemplify the ruthless tactics used by this administration against the American people and expose the deep corruption that has undermined our agency.”
Torres called on DHS Inspector General Joseph Cufari to investigate ICE’s actions. The Office of Inspector General did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Immigration officials are expanding their profiling tactics for people suspected of being in the country illegally. Critics say this amounts to unfair racialization of Latinos.
Veronica Cárdenas, an immigration lawyer and former ICE chief of staff, said Concepcion’s case reflects the so-called “Kavanaugh Stop,” a recent Supreme Court decision upheld by Justice Brett Kavanaugh that allows immigration enforcement to stop based solely on race, language, residence or occupation.
“This has become an American problem, not just an unpatriotic problem,” Cárdenas told USA TODAY. “American citizens are currently in custody and caught up in this situation.”
He said a solution would be to force ICE to use judicial warrants (warrants signed by a court to detain someone) rather than administrative warrants from DHS. That will ensure people are correctly identified and others are not caught up in the operation, Cárdenas said.
Another issue, she added, is that ICE officers wear masks and plain clothes.
Lawmakers recently included a number of federal immigration enforcement-related bills in New York state’s delayed budget that, if passed, would give the state the right to sue ICE agents for constitutional violations. State law would also prohibit law enforcement from wearing masks while on duty.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Contact us via email (emcuevas1@usatoday.com) or Signal (emcuevas.01).
