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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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A U.S. citizen in Alabama was detained by federal immigration agents three times in less than a year, despite showing proof of citizenship and presenting identification, according to court filings.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection, two key arms within DHS, are facing a flurry of backlash after cases emerged that the agency has detained U.S. citizens during protests and enforcement operations, raising concerns about racial profiling by federal agents.
Leonardo Garcia Venegas, a 26-year-old construction worker alleges in a federal class-action lawsuit that immigration officers unlawfully stopped, detained, and arrested him in Baldwin County on multiple occasions, ignoring his government-issued REAL ID, according to court documents reviewed by Newsweek.
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The documents, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, challenge what it describes as three Department of Homeland Security (DHS) enforcement policies. This includes an ICE policy allowing officers to enter private construction sites without a warrant, another permitting detention without individualized suspicion, and a policy allowing continued detention after presentation of evidence of lawful status.
Joshua Windham, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, told Newsweek: "Leo is an American citizen who just wants to work in peace. But the federal government won't let him."
A spokesperson for the DHS told Newsweek, “Allegations that DHS law enforcement engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless, and categorically false. What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S.—not their skin color, race, or ethnicity."
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A ProPublica investigation found that over 170 U.S. citizens, mostly Latino, were detained by immigration agents during the first nine months of the second Trump administration, some held for days. The nation's top immigration enforcement agencies operate under increased pressure amid President Donald Trump’s push to carry out what he has called the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history, aimed at removing millions of migrants without legal status from the country.
Immigration Raid at Construction Site
Garcia Venegas was first detained on May 21, 2025, when immigration officers entered a private construction site in Baldwin County where he and other workers were building homes, according to court filings.
The site was fenced and marked with No Trespassing signs, but officers allegedly ran onto the property without a warrant and targeted Latino workers while leaving others alone.
Court documents say Garcia Venegas identified himself as a U.S. citizen and offered to show documentation, but officers tackled him, handcuffed him, and held him for more than an hour. He repeatedly told officers he was a citizen and provided an Alabama STAR ID, a form of REAL ID issued to citizens and lawful residents, but was kept in restraints until his status was later confirmed, according to the filing.
Footage shows an immigration officer telling Garcia Venegas, "You’re making this more complicated than you want to," before moving toward him. The video then shows the officer grabbing him as Garcia Venegas responds, "Don’t touch me," and says he can provide his identification. Officers then force him to the ground, where he repeatedly states that he is a U.S. citizen. Garcia Venegas said in court filings that officers dismissed his identification as fake and held him for more than an hour.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson previously told Newsweek that "there was no mistake" during the encounter, adding that Venegas "attempted to obstruct and prevent the lawful arrest of an illegal alien," which led to his arrest.
"Leo had to take nearly two weeks off from work to recover emotionally after his first arrest, at a significant financial cost. Leo felt dreadful after his arrest—not only because it happened once but because he knew it could happen again," a court filing reads.
ICE Agents Enter Home Without Warrant
Garcia Venegas was detained again on June 12, 2025, while working alone inside a partially constructed home at a residential development in Baldwin County, according to court documents.
An immigration officer entered the home without a warrant after spotting him through a window and directed him to leave the property, despite Garcia Venegas saying he was a U.S. citizen, per the filings. Court documents allege the officer spoke to him in Spanish and ordered him to step outside, where another agent had positioned himself nearby.
The filings say Garcia Venegas was surrounded and escorted off the site, with officers walking in front of and behind him as they led him to an unmarked vehicle more than a dozen lots away.
According to the complaint, he again presented his REAL ID and said that he was a U.S. citizen, but officers told him the identification could be fake and transported him for further checks. The filing states that agents detained him while they verified his status and also held other workers from the same development, including individuals with lawful status.
Garcia Venegas was held for approximately 20 to 30 minutes before being released after authorities confirmed he was a citizen, according to a court document.
“DHS is NOT arresting U.S. citizens by mistake. DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence. We know who we are targeting ahead of time. If and when we do encounter individuals subject to arrest, our law enforcement is trained to ask a series of well-determined questions to determine status and removability," an agency spokesperson said.
Federal Agents Detain Man Outside His Home
In a filing submitted May 4, 2026, Garcia Venegas said he was detained a third time on May 2, 2026, during an encounter outside his home, according to court documents.
The motion and accompanying declaration state that federal immigration officers approached him and physically restrained him without first asking any questions. He told officers he was a U.S. citizen and presented his REAL ID, but the filing alleges they continued to detain him despite that.
According to the declaration, he was placed in handcuffs and leg restraints and put into the back of an enforcement vehicle, where officers then began questioning him about his place of birth. He told them he was born in Florida and offered to retrieve his U.S. passport from inside his home, but the officers declined to review it, the filing states.
The document says officers searched his wallet and used a handheld device to scan his driver’s license while he remained restrained in the vehicle. He was released only after agents verified his lawful status, according to the declaration.
The filing also states officers required a K‑9 drug search of the vehicle he had been driving before removing his restraints, prolonging the encounter even after his identity had been confirmed.
A spokesperson for the DHS pushed back and said, "Leonardo Garcia Venegas was not detained last week. On Saturday, May 2, ICE conducted a routine vehicle stop on a car registered to an illegal alien. After Venegas’ identity was established, he was released.”
Attorneys for Garcia Venegas argue the incident mirrors his prior detentions, writing that officers again held him "well after" he presented evidence of his citizenship and that the repeated encounters demonstrate a continuing pattern.
Garcia Venegas argues in court filings that the alleged policies violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, as well as federal regulations governing immigration enforcement.
Attorneys said the third detention shows an ongoing risk that he could be stopped again during routine activities, including driving or going to work. The motion argues that the repeated incidents strengthen his request for a preliminary injunction, which would limit further enforcement actions against him while the case proceeds.
Windham said: "Twice last year, masked federal agents raided his private construction sites without a warrant, detained him without any reason to suspect a crime, and refused to credit his REAL ID as proof of citizenship. And just last weekend, federal agents followed him home and, without a warrant, dragged him from his truck while he was holding his REAL ID and threw him in leg shackles. Each time, the agents released Leo well after they should have realized he's an innocent American citizen.
"This can't go on. While Leo's lawsuit brings several different claims, the thrust is simple: The federal government has no right to raid private work sites without a warrant. The federal government has no right to stop, tackle, or shackle hardworking American citizens based on nothing more than the job they hold and the way they look. That's unconstitutional, it's un-American, and we will not rest until it ends."
The lawsuit seeks to block further enforcement actions and to recover damages for the alleged unlawful arrests and detentions.
Update 5/10/26, 3:58 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional comment and information.
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