Leonardo Garcia Venegas was not surprised when immigration agents pulled him from his car and shackled him this month. He was not scared. He was simply exhausted.
For the 26-year-old U.S. Citizen, this was the third time he had been targeted in a pattern of mistaken identity. His experience highlights a troubling trend in the detention of U.S. Citizens by immigration agents, where official denials of such errors clash with the documented experiences of Americans on the ground.
Born in Florida and a high school graduate in the same county where these encounters have occurred, Garcia Venegas has repeatedly attempted to prove his citizenship using an Alabama REAL ID—a credential reserved exclusively for citizens and legal residents. Despite this, the documentation has frequently been ignored by agents in the field.
The mental toll of these encounters has left Garcia Venegas demoralized. “Honestly, it feels terrible,” he said, describing the depression and stress that accompany his daily commute. “I drive to work every morning and I know, at any moment, they could pull me over again.”
A Timeline of Repeated Detentions
The cycle of encounters began approximately a year ago. Garcia Venegas was filming the arrest of his brother during a raid at a coastal Alabama construction site when agents tackled him. Despite his immediate pleas that he was a citizen, he was detained.
A few weeks later, the encounters continued when an officer entered a home Garcia Venegas was building. Even then, the officer refused to accept the validity of his REAL ID.
The most recent incident occurred on May 2, when agents followed him to his residence. Once again, agents disregarded his claims of citizenship and the identification he presented. He was eventually released after about 15 minutes, but not before being shackled.
| Incident | Context | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| First Detention | Filming brother’s arrest at construction site | Tackled by agents; citizenship pleas ignored |
| Second Detention | Officer entered home under construction | REAL ID not accepted by officer |
| Third Detention | Vehicle stop on May 2 | Shackled; released after 15 minutes |
Garcia Venegas noted in a recent legal filing that agents blamed the most recent stop on the fact that he was driving a car registered to his brother. “The officers could have known immediately that I was not my brother just by checking the REAL ID that was in my hand,” he stated.
The Semantic Gap in Official Responses
While these incidents are documented, senior immigration officials have consistently downplayed or denied that U.S. Citizens are being mistakenly detained. During a border security conference in Phoenix, Matthew Elliston, a top Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official, claimed that since the start of the current administration, there have been “zero times” that citizens were arrested for false identification.
Other officials have offered different justifications. Todd Lyons, the outgoing head of ICE, acknowledged that citizens are sometimes detained if they allegedly put “hands on law enforcement,” suggesting such arrests serve as a “deterrent.” However, video evidence in several cases has contradicted Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims that agents were attacked.
The agency has also relied on narrow definitions of “arrest” and “detention” to distance itself from these incidents. In response to inquiries regarding Garcia Venegas, a DHS spokesperson stated he was “NOT detained,” characterizing the event as a “routine vehicle stop.” Similarly, regarding an American teenager in the Bronx who was tackled by masked agents and left bruised, the agency claimed the youth was “NOT arrested” but rather “temporarily detained.”
This rigid stance was echoed by Rodney Scott, head of Customs and Border Protection, who stated, “I’m not going to do anything to not arrest U.S. Citizens… Because we arrest criminals, period.”
The Legal Framework of ‘Kavanaugh Stops’
The encounters involving Garcia Venegas align with a legal precedent often referred to as “Kavanaugh stops.” In a ruling last fall, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that agents may stop individuals based on “apparent ethnicity,” occupation, and language. Garcia Venegas, who is Latino, works in construction, and primarily speaks Spanish, fits the profile used in these operations.
While Justice Kavanaugh suggested that Americans have no reason to worry because agents will “promptly let the individual go” once citizenship is established, the reality for those targeted is often more volatile. A footnote in a separate case by the Justice noted that officers must not make interior immigration stops or arrests based on race or ethnicity.
The government has defended these sweeps in court, arguing they are “based on reasonable suspicion and probable cause and the Constitution.”
Legal Battles and the Path Forward
Garcia Venegas is currently pursuing a federal lawsuit against the government, seeking both compensation and an end to what he describes as “unconstitutional” raids in his community. Despite the repeated nature of his detentions, government lawyers have argued that his case lacks merit.
The struggle for accountability has been leisurely. Garcia Venegas filed a separate claim for damages last fall; however, ICE issued a denial in mid-April without providing an explanation. His third detention occurred roughly two weeks after that denial.
The psychological weight of the situation has led the Florida native to contemplate leaving the country entirely and moving to his family’s home in Mexico. “I just want to live in peace,” he said.
The legal proceedings continue as Garcia Venegas’ attorneys update his lawsuit to include the details of the May 2 incident. The next phase of the litigation will likely center on whether the government’s use of “apparent ethnicity” as a basis for stops violates the Fourth Amendment rights of U.S. Citizens.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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