Federal immigration agents violently detained a 20-year-old U.S. citizen and Santa Maria (Calif.) High School student with special needs on Wednesday morning, according to school and city officials.
The student, who has limited verbal communication and is on an individualized education program, was walking to school around 7 a.m. when two agents tackled him from behind, questioned him about his citizenship and restrained him in their vehicle. He was eventually released in the area where he was picked up and walked to school, where officials called for an ambulance to take him to the hospital, said Santa Maria City Councilmember Gloria Soto.
The student underwent surgery for injuries to his wrist, she said, and was left with bruises and lacerations.
Soto said a school resource officer obtained security footage from a nearby grocery store and confirmed that the people who had detained the student are agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In an emailed statement, an unidentified ICE spokesperson wrote that agents were conducting a targeted enforcement operation in Santa Maria “when they encountered an individual they believed matched the description of the criminal illegal alien target.”
“When the individual resisted officers, refused lawful commands, and assumed a fighting stance with clenched fists, they relied on their training to safely control the situation until they could confirm his identity, whereupon he was released,” the spokesperson wrote.
The spokesperson added that claims that the student suffered broken bones are false because “he never requested medical assistance.”
Glenn Goldin, a retired special education teacher at Santa Maria High who still mentors the student who was detained, said he worked for a long time to build the confidence to walk by himself to school. Now he’s wary of returning to school.
The student told Goldin that he saw a black car pull up and kept walking. The agents were masked and didn’t announce who they were, but he noticed they wore vests that said “POLICE ICE.” The student told Goldin that he had his Real ID in his wallet, but the agents didn’t ask to see it.
“He told them repeatedly that the handcuffs were too tight and they were hurting him,” Goldin said.
Goldin said the student has no family and lives in a group home for adults with developmental disabilities.
After the agents released him, the student walked to school, crying and in pain. His teacher saw him and dialed 911, Goldin said.
“He was so scared,” Goldin recalled the student telling him. “He thought they were going to kill him. He thought he was going to die.”
Soto said it appears the student was racially profiled. She called for an independent investigation into how a case of mistaken identity by ICE agents ended with the student being hurt.
“Our community is living in terror right now and this needs to stop,” she said, referencing a recent uptick in immigration arrests across central California. “I’m a mother, and the thought of my child not being safe walking to school is frightening.”
The Santa Maria Police Department declined to comment and referred questions to ICE.
Alma Hernandez, board president of Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, said she was horrified by ICE’s actions.
“Our district remains committed to protecting our students and families,” she said.
Kenny Klein, the school district’s spokesperson, said the student was detained by ICE about a half-mile from campus.
“The student then proceeded to walk to school. School administration called an ambulance, and the student was taken to the hospital to receive medical care,” Klein wrote in a statement, adding that parents, guardians, students and staff were notified of the incident.
Santa Maria police responded to the situation and notified appropriate agencies, including the local district attorney and the California attorney general, he added.
805 UndocuFund, an advocacy group, wrote in an Instagram post that volunteers witnessed several more community members stopped and questioned by ICE on Wednesday. The group organized a rally and protest this Saturday in support of the student.
