ICE and CBP Agents Uncaring Towards Obvious Distress

Table of Contents
8 Examples of ICE and CBP Agents Insensitive to Cries of Duress
  • Pregnant woman
    South Minneapolis, MN
    Dec 15, 2025
    A pregnant woman was held face down on the ground in the street with knees in her back and then suddenly dragged by one arm across the street ignoring repeated pleas from the crowd that "She is pregnant" and that "She can't breathe."
  • Nayra Guzmán
    Mother of baby needing intensive care
    U.S. Work Permit Holder
    Chicago, IL
    Dec 2, 2025
    U.S. work permit holder and 22-year-old asylum applicant Nayra Guzmán and her family were detained by ICE on their way to see her baby recovering at the neonatal intensive care unit of a hospital after an emergency Cesarean section of which she also suffered pain and complications. Despite their paperwork and circumstances, she was detained for 34 hours without receiving any medical evaluation. And, she was forced to spend the entire time in a room which was very cold with only a bench to lie on and no blankets or anything for sleep. Afterwards, she had complications producing breast milk for her baby. While being transferred by van, agents, aware of her condition and ignoring pleas from her brother, drove recklessly fast and over potholes in a way that was very painful for Nayra.
  • Martha Ruiz
    56-year old diabetic
    Green Card Applicant
    Gary, Indiana
    Nov 29, 2025
    56-year old diabetic Martha Ruiz, who has no criminal history and has lived in the U.S. since the 90s on a religious visa, had agents bang on her door and then immediately broke it down before she had time to answer.
    • Despite her telling them she had a hurt arm, agents forced it behind her back and handcuffed her on the ground.
    • One of their dogs obviously bit her repeatedly on her back and legs leaving bite wounds still noticeable two weeks later. When she yelled out in pain and out of a longtime fear of dogs, they dismissed her with "our dog doesn’t bite."
    • They then dragged her up the stairs and threw her on the ground fracturing her ribs which she did not receive any medical attention for until she was released two weeks later.
    • When she asked to use the bathroom, they refused.
    • She was transferred from a nearby ICE facility in Broadview, Chicago where she shared an overcrowded room with 170 people with only one window, a single open bathroom with no privacy and where some had to sleep on the floor.
    • She was then transferred to an El Paso, TX ICE facility much further away after a couple days where they finally treated just the pain from her injuries but only with a single injection.
    • She was finally taken to a women's shelter where people were kind and welcoming but obstinately felt the need to shackle her the entire trip all the way up until she walked in the door.
    • When finally released, her son had to fly all the way out to El Paso to bring her home where she was given an ankle monitor -- something they could have done very easily from the beginning.
  • 32-year-old father & his 1-year-old daughter
    U.S. Citizen
    Los Angeles Home Depot Parking Lot
    Nov 6, 2025
    A 32-year-old father and U.S. citizen was removed from his vehicle by masked immigration agents who then drove off in his car with his one-year-old daughter strapped in the back seat ignoring yelled warnings by a witness that "there's a baby in the back" (presumably on purpose). The family did not know where she was for a while and the baby's grandmother was made to wait for hours at an immigration center and provide proof of citizenship before they returned the baby.
  • Sixteen-year-old Arnoldo Bazan & his father
    U.S. Citizen
    Restaurant Depot store in Houston, TX
    Oct 28, 2025
    Sixteen-year-old U.S. citizen Arnoldo Bazan was beaten, choked and verbally attacked with racial slurs by plain clothed and masked ICE officers outside a restaurant supply-chain store in Houston. When he cried out that he was underage, the agent started to choke him more which was severe enough for a witness to yell out "you're fixing to break his neck." He also said an agent took his phone after they noticed him filming the initial encounter, and he was detained for hours before being released without charges. During the incident his father was also roughed up and kicked. Agents previously cut off the car the father was driving in with his father with two unmarked vehicles and recklessly escalated the situation by smashing the windows after which Arnulfo said he was scared and drove off briefly to escape before stopping again.
  • 15-year-old boy
    U.S. Citizen Born in Chicago
    Chicago
    Oct 14, 2025
    A 15-year-old American citizen peacefully protesting excessive use of force by CBP agents was slammed to the ground, cuffed and held down so hard he cried out "my neck, my neck" after which they pushed him down even harder. Then he was detained by agents in a federal building garage for five hours without informing his family, stating any charges, or allowing him to call an attorney or his family.
  • Rafie Shouhed
    Car Wash Owner
    U.S. Citizen
    Los Angeles Car Wash
    Sep 25, 2025
    U.S. citizen Rafie Shouhed was shoved to the ground in an excessive use of force by a masked ICE thug while trying to engage with them on their fascist raid on his car wash. He was further roughed up outside where agents were quick to throw him on the ground and during the process he describes three agents sitting on his back in a very painful way. And the abjectly evil fascists they are, his pleas about them hurting him were met with "You don't F with ICE." He suffered multiple broken ribs, deep bruising, a gruesome injury to his arm and damage to his brain from being slammed headfirst into the ground. He was detained for hours without his wife knowing where he was despite him yelling that he had proof he was a U.S. citizen in his wallet and five of his employees were also detained without looking at his claims of proof he had that his employees were authorized to be on the job. Mr. Shouhed filed a $50M lawsuit over the excessive use of force by the fascist ICE thugs.
  • Matilde
    54-year-old tamale vendor
    North L.A. Suburb Pacoima
    Jun 19, 2025
    54-year-old Matilde, who sells tamales with a street permit and has lived undocumented in California for 29 years without incident, was traumatized by masked immigration agents who charged at her without asking questions or producing a warrant. One grabbed her from behind with such considerable force she cried out multiple times that she couldn't breathe. Despite her panicked pleas, the agent holding her actually pulled tighter continuing to apply excessive force until she lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness, the agents left her sitting there and prevented a bystander who identified herself as a nurse from attending to her. And when eventually taken to the hospital after a bystander -- not immigration agents -- called for an ambulance, it was found out she suffered a minor heart attack.