US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is under intense scrutiny after a viral video appeared to show a man losing consciousness after having a seizure while clutching a small child during an arrest. 

The incident, captured in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, ignited widespread criticism as officials claimed the man had faked a medical emergency in an attempt to prevent the arrest of his wife. 

The footage, obtained by the Boston Globe, reveals a chaotic scene inside a vehicle. A panicked woman in the passenger seat tries to wake the man in the driver’s seat as a crying child sits between them.

Voices in the background can be heard shouting, “He’s having a seizure,” while an officer attempts to remove the passengers from the car.

This is maybe the worst ICE video I’ve seen https://t.co/TB0ZsT7qI7

— Jordan Weissmann (@JHWeissmann) November 7, 2025

A Fitchburg police officer can be heard repeatedly ordering onlookers to “back up". One bystander can be heard saying, “They’re trying to rip the baby out of [his] hand.” 

ICE dismissed claims that the video accurately depicted what happened. Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said on social media that medical personnel who responded “found no legitimate medical episode” and that the family refused medical assistance. DHS later wrote online, “Imagine FAKING a seizure to help a criminal escape justice.”

Zapata’s account of the arrest 

The man in the video, identified as Carlos Sebastian Zapata, told the Boston Globe that he lost consciousness out of fear his wife would be detained. “I wasn’t letting go of my wife because they wanted to take her away,” Zapata said. He stressed that ICE agents shoved him, struck his ribs, and pressed on his neck. “And that’s when I let go of my wife,” he added. “I had convulsions or something.” 

ICE confirmed that the enforcement action was directed at Zapata’s wife, Juliana Milena Ojeda-Montoya, an Ecuadorian national who was arrested on Thursday. Officials said she had an outstanding warrant for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, accusing her of stabbing a co-worker and throwing a trash barrel during the altercation. 

ICE's side of the story; 'hostility' a key word

As per ICE's account, the family’s vehicle was stopped around 7:00 am in what began as a traffic stop but escalated into an “attempted apprehension”. By 8:03 am, agents contacted Fitchburg police, reporting that a crowd had gathered and the situation was turning hostile. Local police confirmed to Boston.com that an officer, a supervisor, and a captain were dispatched to the scene and verified that tensions were rising. 

The incident took place amid President Donald Trump’s expanded deportation drive. In September, ICE launched Operation Patriot 2.0 in Massachusetts, leading to the detention of more than 1,400 people on immigration-related charges. 

Earlier in the week, ICE faced additional backlash after masked and heavily armed federal agents arrested a US citizen in a Los Angeles Home Depot parking lot. Agents reportedly entered the man’s car and drove away with his one-year-old child, also a US citizen, still in the backseat.

Trump's ambitious plan to deport 3,000 people a day

The crackdown on immigrants has been part of Trump's campaign promise to deport individuals without immigration documentation and to close down the Mexico-US border, a goal which led his administration to set a target for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 undocumented migrants per day.

What began as a campaign slogan quickly evolved into a nationwide operation that blurred legal distinctions. Arrests have increasingly extended to individuals residing in the country legally, including lawful permanent residents, visa holders, and international students.

Ambiguous pretexts

Many of these detentions were justified under broad or ambiguous pretexts, ranging from alleged visa irregularities to participation in pro-Palestine protests and other political demonstrations, raising alarm over the criminalization of dissent and the expansion of immigration enforcement into civic and academic spaces.

Within hours of taking office, Trump signed a series of sweeping executive orders that reshaped the nation’s immigration and border policies. Refugee flights were abruptly canceled, troops were deployed to the southern border, and federal authorities granted expanded powers to arrest individuals in or near schools, courthouses, and workplaces, areas traditionally considered off-limits for immigration enforcement.

The measures sent a chilling message to immigrant communities and signaled a return to mass deportation as a defining feature of US domestic policy, with significant repercussions for America’s global image and its commitment to human rights.

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