An American citizen born in the United States was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers despite having a REAL ID. Photo courtesy Immigration and Customs Enforcement
May 25 (UPI) — An American citizen born in the United States was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers despite having a REAL ID. He was later released from custody after providing his Social Security number.
The incident was first reported by Noticias Telemundo, which obtained video footage of a raid that led to the arrest of 25-year-old Leonardo Garcia Venegas at a job site in Alabama.
The video shows ICE officers grabbing Venegas and putting handcuffs on him before someone off-camera yelled that he was a citizen. He told the broadcaster that authorities took his ID from his wallet before handcuffing him and dismissed it as fake.
“We all made sure we have the REAL ID and went through the protocols the administration is asking for,” his cousin Shelah Venegas said. “He has his REAL ID and then they see him and I guess because his English isn’t fluent and/or because he’s brown, it’s fake.”
Shelah Venegas, in a post to social media, alleged that the federal authorities refused to let him identify himself and held him in handcuffs “for almost an hour” despite him yelling that he was a citizen.
The Department of Homeland Security alleged in a statement to NBC News that Garcia had interfered with an arrest that was being carried out at the job site.
“He physically got in between agents and the subject they were attempting to arrest and refused to comply with numerous verbal commands,” said Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary.
The brief video shared by Noticias Telemundo and Shelah Venegas on social media does not appear to show Leonardo Garcia Venegas getting between two agents as described.
“Anyone who actively obstructs law enforcement in the performance of their sworn duties, including U.S. citizens, will of course face consequences which include arrest,” McLaughlin said.
A spokesperson for the agency told Newsweek that “there was no mistake” made by authorities during the encounter.