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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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A U.S. citizen who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during an immigration operation in Southern California has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $25 million in damages.
Carlos Jimenez filed the 54-page complaint on November 6, alleging federal agents used excessive force and later relied on fabricated evidence to prosecute him. The lawsuit names the Trump administration, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officer Eusebio Ortiz, two Customs and Border Protection officers identified as N. Jimenez and S. Cosey, FBI Special Agent Banuelos, and San Bernardino County. There are also 20 unidentified defendants.
The lawsuit alleges Jimenez was shot in the back and shoulder as he attempted to drive away after approaching federal agents to warn them that children would soon be gathering at a nearby school bus stop.
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A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) previously told Newsweek that Jimenez, who was not the target of the operation, pulled his vehicle in front of ICE officers and was ordered to leave the scene. As he began to drive away, the spokesperson said, his vehicle stopped and "attempted to run officers over by reversing directly at them without stopping." The spokesperson added that an ICE officer, "fearing for his life, fired defensive shots at the vehicle," before Jimenez fled the scene and abandoned his vehicle.
Jimenez's lawyer has disputed that account, saying he was attempting a three-point turn after being told to leave and had begun moving forward when he was shot.
Newsweek contacted Jimenez’s legal team, DHS, DOJ, the FBI, CBP, and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for comment and is awaiting responses.
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Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House on January 20, 2025 and launched an aggressive mass deportation campaign, at least 32 shooting incidents involving federal immigration enforcement agents have been reported across the country. This is according to The Trace's ICE shootings tracker. The incidents have resulted in at least nine deaths and 15 injuries.
Immigration agents have faced mounting allegations of excessive force, racial profiling, unlawful arrests, and due process violations. Lawsuits and investigations have also raised questions about agents' accounts of enforcement incidents; video footage and witness testimony have contradicted official statements in some cases. In February 2026, two ICE officers were suspended and investigated after DHS said video evidence suggested they had made untruthful statements under oath about a shooting in Minneapolis.
The lawsuit alleges Ortiz initially pointed a firearm at Jimenez and threatened to shoot him if he did not leave before putting the weapon away and displaying pepper spray. As Jimenez attempted to turn his Lexus around, the complaint alleges, Ortiz fired several rounds through a rear passenger-side window.
The complaint says Jimenez suffered gunshot wounds and a displaced fracture of his right shoulder blade and that fragments remained in his torso near his right lung. He was taken to Riverside Community Hospital as a trauma patient, according to the filing.
The lawsuit also accuses FBI agents of interfering with Jimenez’s medical treatment after the shooting. It alleges agents removed him from his hospital bed, "handcuffed him with a leather waist restraint," and drove him back to the scene for interrogation "while the bullet and fragments remained lodged in his body." The complaint says Jimenez was "kept bleeding and vomiting in the agents’ van" and was told not to "ruin their vehicle."
Jimenez was later taken to West Valley Detention Center, where the lawsuit alleges he was denied adequate medical care and medication despite his injuries.
Criminal Case Dismissed
Federal prosecutors charged Jimenez with assaulting a federal officer with his vehicle, and a grand jury indicted him November 18, 2025.
The criminal case later became the subject of a dispute over evidence.
On May 5, U.S. District Judge Kenly Kiya Kato ordered the government to turn over communications and operational records sought by the defense; this included responsive communications on government-issued and personal phones. The order also required a declaration under penalty of perjury from Ortiz if no responsive messages from him existed.
Jimenez entered into a diversion agreement shortly afterward. After he completed its conditions, Kato dismissed the indictment with prejudice on November 2, meaning the charge cannot be refiled. The dismissal order did not make a finding that federal officers used excessive force or otherwise acted unlawfully.
The Justice Department said Jimenez requested diversion and prosecutors sought dismissal once he successfully completed its terms. Prosecutors also maintained during the criminal proceedings that the requested text messages did not exist.
Lawsuit Alleges FBI Evidence Was Fabricated
The lawsuit also accuses FBI agent Estevan R. Banuelos of fabricating statements attributed to two people interviewed after the shooting.
According to the complaint, an FBI interview report attributed statements to Manuel Villareal and Beatrice Morales indicating that Jimenez had enough room to drive forward rather than reverse his vehicle.
The lawsuit alleges the two later told a defense investigator that they had not provided a distance estimate, did not say Jimenez had sufficient room to drive forward, and did not witness the shooting itself.
The complaint further alleges prosecutors offered diversion to prevent Banuelos from being questioned under oath and to avoid disclosing or accounting for evidence involving Ortiz's phone.
The lawsuit makes 13 claims, including excessive force, false arrest, malicious prosecution, and denial of medical care. Jimenez is seeking $25 million in non-economic damages, plus nearly $179,000 in medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, and other damages.
A ProPublica investigation published in October 2026 identified over 500 U.S. citizens who had been detained by federal immigration agents since Trump returned to the White House.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Cannon and James Debens
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