ICE agents tackle and injure U.S. citizen student with disabilities, local officials say

Federal immigration agents violently detained a 20-year-old U.S. citizen and Santa Maria, Calif., High School student with disabilities on Wednesday morning, according to school and city officials.

The student, who has limited verbal communication, was walking to school when agents tackled him, questioned him about his citizenship and restrained him in their vehicle. He was eventually returned to 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 Council member Gloria Soto.

The student underwent surgery for injuries to his wrist, she said, and was left with bruises and lacerations.

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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.

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The spokesperson added that claims that the student suffered broken bones are false because “he never requested medical assistance.”

Soto said it appears the student was racially profiled.

“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.

This is a developing story.