I have fear that every time I go to work, it will happen again
En una nación fundada sobre la promesa de igualdad ante la ley, Leonardo García —ciudadano estadounidense nacido en Florida— fue detenido dos veces en un mes por agentes de inmigración que descreyeron sus documentos porque su apariencia latina y su trabajo en construcción les parecieron suficiente evidencia de irregularidad. Su caso, junto al de otros ciudadanos detenidos en California, revela una tensión profunda entre las políticas de aplicación migratoria de la administración Trump y las garantías constitucionales que protegen a todos los ciudadanos por igual. La demanda que García ha interpuesto contra el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional plantea una pregunta que las sociedades democráticas no pueden eludir: ¿hasta qué punto puede el Estado presumir culpabilidad basándose en el aspecto de una persona?
- García fue tirado al suelo, esposado y retenido en dos ocasiones distintas mientras los agentes decidían si sus propios documentos de ciudadanía eran reales.
- Las políticas del DHS bajo la administración Trump permiten detener a cualquier persona sospechosa de ser indocumentada hasta que ella misma demuestre lo contrario, invirtiendo la carga de la prueba.
- El patrón se repite en otros estados: un ciudadano iraní de 79 años sufrió costillas fracturadas en California, y otro ciudadano latino fue interrogado sobre el hospital donde nació, todo ante cámaras.
- García y sus abogados del Institute for Justice exigen una orden judicial urgente que detenga las redadas sin orden judicial en obras privadas del sur de Alabama y buscan compensación por daños.
- El DHS insiste en que ICE no arresta ni deporta ciudadanos estadounidenses, pero los casos documentados en múltiples estados contradicen esa afirmación oficial.
- La demanda de García se convierte en un examen judicial sobre si la apariencia étnica puede legalmente anular la documentación de ciudadanía en manos de un agente federal.
Leonardo García, ciudadano estadounidense de 25 años nacido en Florida de padres mexicanos, estaba trabajando en una obra en el condado de Baldwin, Alabama, cuando agentes de inmigración se presentaron en mayo de 2025. Les dijo que era ciudadano. No le creyeron: lo tiraron al suelo, lo esposaron y lo retuvieron durante una hora hasta verificar su identidad. Lo soltaron sin explicación ni disculpa.
Un mes después, en junio, ocurrió de nuevo. En otra obra, un agente entró por el garaje de una casa y le ordenó salir. García volvió a identificarse como ciudadano. Volvieron a llevarlo a su vehículo para comprobarlo. Volvieron a soltarlo. "Tengo miedo de que cada vez que vaya a trabajar, vuelva a pasar", declaró.
Sus abogados del Institute for Justice señalan que estos hechos reflejan un cambio estructural en la aplicación migratoria bajo el DHS de la administración Trump: los agentes pueden detener a cualquier persona que consideren indocumentada y retenerla hasta que ella pruebe lo contrario. García presentó sus documentos en ambas ocasiones. Los agentes creyeron que eran falsos. Su apariencia —latino, trabajando en construcción— pareció pesar más que los papeles.
García ha demandado al Departamento de Seguridad Nacional, solicitando una orden judicial que detenga las redadas sin orden en obras privadas del sur de Alabama y reclamando daños y perjuicios. El DHS respondió afirmando que García había intentado obstaculizar la detención de un indocumentado y que cualquier persona que interfiera con agentes puede ser arrestada.
El caso no es aislado. En California, Rafie Ollah Shouhed, ciudadano estadounidense de 79 años nacido en Irán, demanda al gobierno por 50 millones de dólares tras una redada en su lavado de autos que le dejó costillas fracturadas. Jason Brian Gavidia, de 29 años y padres latinos, también fue detenido en junio en su taller mecánico pese a insistir en su ciudadanía; un agente llegó a preguntarle en qué hospital había nacido, según un video. El DHS afirma que ICE no arresta ni deporta ciudadanos. Los hechos documentados en varios estados sugieren otra realidad: una donde la apariencia y el tipo de trabajo pueden imponerse sobre la documentación, y donde los tribunales deberán decidir si eso cruza una línea constitucional.
Leonardo García was on a construction site in Baldwin County, Alabama, when immigration agents arrived. He was a U.S. citizen—born in Florida, 25 years old, son of Mexican parents. When the agents approached, he told them so. They didn't believe him.
They threw him to the ground, handcuffed him, and took him into custody for an hour while they verified his identity. When they confirmed he was a citizen, they released him without explanation or apology. It was May 2025.
A month later, in June, it happened again. García was inside a house at another construction site when an agent entered through the garage and ordered him out. Again, he said he was a U.S. citizen. Again, they took him to their vehicle to check. Again, they let him go. "I have fear that every time I go to work, it will happen again," García said.
His lawyers at the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit legal organization, say what happened to García reflects a shift in how immigration enforcement operates under the Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security. Under the new policies, ICE agents can arrest anyone they believe looks like an undocumented immigrant and hold them until that person proves citizenship. García showed his documents both times. The agents thought they were fake. His appearance—Latino, working construction—was apparently enough to override the documents themselves.
García has sued the Department of Homeland Security, arguing the tactics are unconstitutional and illegal. He's asking the courts to stop warrantless raids at private construction sites in southern Alabama and to award him damages. His lawyers want an immediate court order halting these operations. The DHS, for its part, released a statement on October 1st claiming García had tried to obstruct the arrest of an undocumented immigrant and that anyone—citizen or not—who interferes with law enforcement faces arrest.
But García's case is not isolated. In California, Rafie Ollah Shouhed, a 79-year-old Iranian-born U.S. citizen, is suing the government for 50 million dollars after ICE agents raided his car wash in early September. He suffered fractured ribs. Also in California, Jason Brian Gavidia, 29, with Latino parents and a U.S. citizen, was detained in June despite repeatedly insisting on his citizenship. An agent even asked him which hospital he was born in, according to video footage. The government said he was detained for interfering with agents at his auto shop.
The DHS has stated that ICE does not arrest or deport U.S. citizens. Yet the pattern emerging across multiple states suggests something different is happening on the ground—a system where appearance and circumstance can override documentation, where the burden of proof has shifted, and where being in the wrong place, doing the wrong kind of work, and looking a certain way can land a citizen in handcuffs. García's lawsuit will test whether the courts agree that this crosses a constitutional line.
Notable Quotes
They arrested me twice for being Latino, for working in construction— Leonardo García
They had no detention order, didn't know who Leonardo was, and hadn't seen him break any law. Their target was anyone who looked Latino— Janae Wilkerson, Institute for Justice spokesperson
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would agents not believe his documents the first time?
His lawyers say the agents were operating under a new framework—they can detain anyone they suspect is undocumented until citizenship is proven. The documents alone weren't enough to stop the arrest. The suspicion came first.
But he's a U.S. citizen. Doesn't that matter?
It should. But in practice, on that construction site in May, it didn't seem to. He was released after an hour, but only after verification. The second time, same thing. The system treats suspicion as grounds for detention, not as something that needs to be overcome.
What's different about this administration's approach?
The DHS policies now allow agents to arrest based on what they think someone's status is, not what they know. Before, there were more constraints. Now the bar is lower. You look undocumented, you work in construction, you're Latino—that's enough to take you in.
Is García's case unusual?
No. There are at least two other documented cases in California alone—a 79-year-old man with fractured ribs, another man asked where he was born. These aren't outliers. They're part of a pattern.
What does García want from the lawsuit?
He wants the courts to stop these raids at construction sites in Alabama. He wants damages. But more than that, he wants the courts to say this violates the Constitution—that you can't arrest citizens based on appearance and suspicion.
Will he win?
That depends on whether the courts agree that the DHS policies cross a constitutional line. The government says ICE doesn't arrest citizens. García's case, and others like it, will test whether that's true.