Cary López, Andrea Vélez, Javier Ramírez, Juan José Gutiérrez, Ángel Piña and Joel Acuña filed individual lawsuits against the United States government, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the authorities of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for having been alleged victims of false arrest, aggression and injuries, and violation of civil and constitutional rights.

Since the Supreme Court gave the green light for racial profiling in the Trump administration's mass arrests, detentions, and deportations, the cruelty of hooded ice and CBP agents has been rampant against immigrants, particularly those living in the United States illegally and U.S. citizens of Latino origin.

"The immigrant community is suffering the consequences of the green light given by the Supreme Court to Trump's agents to commit their misdeeds," said attorney Luis Carrillo, who along with his son Michael, represent the plaintiffs. "The six people are victims of brutal Gestapo-style tactics like never seen before in the United States."

In September 2025, the Supreme Court suspended a lower court injunction that had previously restricted ice from conducting certain types of mass immigration detainers in the Los Angeles area.

In a 10-page concurring opinion, Judge Brett Kavanaugh defended the government's approach, holding that apparent ethnicity could be considered, along with “other common sense indicators” (such as location, language, or type of employment), as a factor in addressing individuals in order to determine their citizenship status, meaning ice and CBP agents have an open letter to apply racial profiling.

“I still have a hard time talking, as it brings back terrible memories of what happened that day I went to pick up my husband and cousin from work,” said Carey Lopez Alvarado, who was 23 and nine months pregnant when she was chained from stomach to to toe by ice agents.

“For me, justice would be for [ice and CBP agents] to be held accountable for their actions, for what they have done and what they continue to do. Let them see that what is happening is wrong, because we are human and we should not be treating each other like that."

In recent years, federal immigration agents have detained or held more than 170 U.S. citizens against their will, according to a lengthy report by Pro-Publica.

While ice is not legally authorized to deport U.S. citizens, several investigations have revealed that the agency previously detained more than 170 potential citizens and mistakenly deported at least 70 U.S. citizens over a five-year period.

‘Grab him who is Mexican’

Javier Ramírez, an American citizen of Mexican origin, recalled what happened on the afternoon of June 12, 2025 at a junk car business in the city of Montebello, when masked agents unexpectedly burst in.

"Immigration entered our yard, although it says that it is private property and they cannot enter for insurance reasons," he said. "I approached to get out of there, and the first thing one says: "Hey, where are you going? Don't be f***ing me. Where are you from?”

"One of them turned and said in English "grab him that this is Mexican" ... they threw me to the floor, they put my knee in my face, in my neck and also in my back. In a video, you can see that I'm all bloody in the face," he added. "That day I had my passport in my wallet."

Javier was incarcerated for five days in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center, without receiving medical attention.

An earlier review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted that inadequate records management makes it impossible to determine the actual number of wrongful detentions, confirming the existence of hundreds of unjustified arrests and dozens of deportations.

Pro-immigrant activist detained by ice

Another of the plaintiffs is the pro-immigrant activist, Juan José Gutiérrez.

"The lawsuit is made not only so that the damage is restored, but so that justice is done," he said. “I am also a citizen of the United States and was arrested on November 27.”

Gutierrez was returning from Mexico City just on Thanksgiving.

"When I arrive at the airport [lax] I go to the artificial intelligence machine that is supposed to make the departure from the airport on an international flight more efficient and I am the only one who has problems with the machine to give me the green light and take the step," he said.

A customs immigration officer directed him to an individualized review, to whom he presented his U.S. passport and driver's license.

“Is there a problem?” he asked. There was no response.

Eventually a supervisor and several officers in paramilitary attire with M-16 long guns arrived.

"They turned me around, handcuffed me and took me out of the airport in the presence of all the passengers," he said. “They took me to another lounge downstairs from the airport, a very intimidating thing and then there were more immigration officers.”

"They make me take off my shoes, take off everything, take everything out of my pockets and before my insistent question why am I under arrest, why is this happening? They just told me to stay quiet," Gutierrez said.

Finally, he signed some papers about his belongings and was taken somewhere else.

He was chained to a steel bench, "for security reasons".

The immigrant leader was released until 3:00 a.m. on Friday, November 28.

"What is happening is serious," said Juan José Gutiérrez. "For me, justice is that all citizens and residents of the United States are fulfilled the promise of the constitution that we have a level playing field, that we are not discriminated against just because of how we look, how we speak whether we speak English with an accent or not, or because of the color of our skin."

Chained in the stomach

On June 8, 2025, in the city of Hawthorne, Cary López Alvarado received two calls: one from her cousin, Alberto Sandoval, and another from Brian Najera, her husband. Both were being chased by immigration agents.

“I panicked and got out of my car, tried to walk to where they were. I saw an immigration vehicle collide with the back of my husband's van. Then I saw many more vehicles circling the area and the van my husband was in,” she recalled.

The agents shouted that they would break the window and get out. Cary pointed out that they were on private property, but they refused to listen to her.

QUERY LENGTH LIMIT EXCEEDED. MAX ALLOWED QUERY : 500 CHARS

“The agent started pushing me and elbowing me. Instinctively, I hunched over to cover my abdomen, fearing it would hurt my baby. So, I almost fell; so I used my body to lean on the work truck and prevent the fall. It was at that moment that two or three other immigration agents arrived and began to pull me and wrestle with me. My cousin stepped in and said,“Hey, be careful, she's pregnant!”

But they pushed him and asked, "Do you want us to arrest you?" That's when they put the handcuffs on her back and dragged her into their vehicle.

QUERY LENGTH LIMIT EXCEEDED. MAX ALLOWED QUERY : 500 CHARS

The agents replied that they would see if that was true. She provided them with her Social Security number, identification number, the name of the hospital, the exact time and date of her birth.

“Hearing this, they adopted an astonished expression and said to me,“Well, let's check it out on the computer. ”

She was then transferred to the Department of Homeland Security and a chain was placed under her belly that linked her hands to her feet.

“They told me I was stupid, why I was doing all that, and they kept insulting me the whole time. Finally, they told me that the only reason they let me go was because I was pregnant, but to wait for a call, since they were going to file charges against me,” the plaintiff reported.

Just five days after her arrest and detention, the strong impression of the incident caused Cary López Alvarado to prematurely give birth to her daughter Ailany.