Mother files $1mn claim after son held at gunpoint by US immigration
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A Los Angeles mother filed a $1 million legal claim against US immigration authorities, alleging racial profiling after her 15-year-old son, a disabled US citizen, was wrongly detained at gunpoint by federal agents.
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An ICE Special Response Team member stands guard outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, while protesters gathered outside to denounce ICE operations, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
A 15-year-old boy was held at gunpoint and detained by US immigration agents in Los Angeles, prompting his mother to file a $1 million claim against federal authorities.
The boy, a US citizen with disabilities, was pulled from a vehicle by masked agents outside Arleta High School on August 11. According to reports, the agents mistakenly believed he was a suspect in a criminal case.
Agents handcuffed the teenager before realizing they had the wrong person, the Los Angeles Times reported. One agent allegedly told him, “Look at the bright side: you’re gonna have an exciting story to tell your friends when you go back to school.”
His mother responded, “What’s exciting about getting guns pointed at you?”
Mother files $1M claim alleging false imprisonment
The family’s legal representatives, the Carrillo Law Firm, filed a claim accusing federal agencies of unconstitutional racial profiling, false imprisonment, and negligence. The filing names the US Department of Homeland Security, US Customs and Border Protection, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The claim alleges that immigration agents lacked any reasonable suspicion or probable cause to detain the teen, and that the experience caused him physical and emotional trauma. The boy’s mother said he has since become depressed and traumatized.
According to the claim, agents “racially profiled [the teen] while he was merely sitting in his car waiting for his family member.” It also alleges the agents left live bullet rounds at the scene, describing it as an act of “clear negligence.”
Read more: ICE moves to shackle some 180,000 immigrants with GPS ankle monitors
Outrage in Los Angeles over immigration tactics
The incident drew widespread condemnation across Los Angeles, especially amid heightened concerns over aggressive US immigration enforcement near schools. Days before the event, an 18-year-old was arrested while walking his dog just before starting his senior year.
The Los Angeles Unified School District has responded by implementing new strategies to safeguard students and uphold schools as safe spaces, regardless of immigration status.
Alberto M. Carvalho, superintendent of LAUSD, called the detention of the 15-year-old “unacceptable,” warning that immigration operations near schools disrupt learning and cause long-lasting anxiety for students and families.
California Congresswoman Luz Rivas also condemned the incident, criticizing the Trump administration for what she described as the “continued use of violent tactics to terrorize our students and families.”
The episode has renewed concerns about the Trump administration’s broader immigration policies, which have long been accused of encouraging discriminatory enforcement practices.
DHS denies targeting schools, defends agents’ actions
The Department of Homeland Security rejected the allegations, stating that agents were not targeting schools but conducting a “targeted operation on [a] criminal illegal alien.” The agency defended its officers, claiming that immigration enforcement is based on legal status, not ethnicity.
“What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the US – NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity,” the DHS statement said. It added that agents are working to remove individuals described as “the worst of the worst” from communities.
The agency also accused the family's legal team of using “racial animus to collect clicks, clout, and cash.”
