The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) brought forward a case on Wednesday, representing Job Garcia, a US citizen who is seeking $1 million in damages from the US government after what his legal team called an unlawful and racially motivated arrest by federal immigration officers. 

According to MALDEF, Garcia said the incident took place on June 19 in the parking lot of a Home Depot in Hollywood, where he was filming a raid involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents.

While documenting the officers as they detained a truck driver, he was suddenly tackled, thrown to the ground, and restrained, despite showing no aggression and repeatedly stating that he was a US citizen. He spent over 24 hours in custody before being released without charges.

"A Latino civil rights organization is taking a first step toward a civil lawsuit and asking the federal government to pay damages of $1 million to a United States citizen who was assaulted and unlawfully detained by federal immigration officers in front of a Home Depot … MALDEF … represents Job Garcia … In the FTCA notification, attorneys argue that Border Patrol agents and ICE unlawfully restrained and detained Garcia 'without any valid grounds for interfering with his liberty and freedom of movement," the organization said in a statement.

Speaking to reporters, Garcia said that officers wore masks, lacked visible identification, and made no attempt to clarify their legal authority before detaining him. Footage captured by bystanders shows Garcia being restrained by several officers, with one kneeling on his back.

According to MALDEF, the arrest was in retaliation for him filming the scene, claiming it was racially motivated.

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Job Garcia, a US Citizen and Phd student, was just arrested by ICE for recording them.

Here’s the video:

pic.twitter.com/HC784J1doL

— Micah Erfan (@micah_erfan) June 21, 2025

"The agents' actions were racially motivated and were retaliation for Garcia's recording them on his phone, attorneys argue. Additionally, the claim alleges that Border Patrol and ICE agents potentially violated rights protected by the US Constitution, including the right to free speech, the right to remain silent, the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, and the right to due process under the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments," the statement read.

Read more: 12 deaths in ICE detention under Trump, deadliest year in decades

12 deaths in ICE detention under Trump

On a related note, a 75-year-old Cuban man died late last month in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, CBS News reported, citing a congressional notice about the death, though the agency has not yet publicly confirmed the fatality, despite its typical delay in announcing such incidents.

That said, this fiscal year saw 15 reported deaths in immigration detention, a figure that includes the final months of the Biden administration, while the highest annual death toll recorded under the previous three administrations reached 12 in a single calendar year.

As the White House pursues aggressive efforts to rapidly deport millions of migrants, critics argue that deteriorating conditions in an overburdened and expansive network of immigration detention centers reflect the administration's failure to maintain proper standards of care.

At the current pace, fatalities in immigration detention could reach 24 by year’s end, approaching, though not surpassing, the peak of 28 deaths recorded in fiscal year 2004 under the George W. Bush administration.