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ICE tackled a 20-year-old disabled U.S. citizen walking to school, officials say. He needed wrist surgery.

ICE says agents thought the Santa Maria student matched a target. He says his ID was in his wallet and no one asked.

ICE tackled a 20-year-old disabled U.S. citizen walking to school, officials say. He needed wrist surgery.
Stock photo. Photo by Christopher Ryan on Unsplash

Federal immigration agents tackled a 20-year-old U.S. citizen as he walked to Santa Maria High School early Wednesday, Oct. 21, then questioned him about his citizenship while he was restrained in their vehicle, according to school and city officials quoted by the Los Angeles Times. He is a special education student with limited speech. He walked the rest of the way to campus, where staff called an ambulance. Santa Maria Councilmember Gloria Soto said he had surgery on his wrist and suffered bruises and cuts.

ICE does not deny it grabbed the wrong person. In a statement to the Times, an unnamed ICE spokesperson said agents on a "targeted enforcement operation" encountered someone "they believed matched the description" of their target. ICE claimed the student "resisted officers, refused lawful commands, and assumed a fighting stance with clenched fists," and that officers released him once they confirmed who he was. ICE also called reports of broken bones false, reasoning that he "never requested medical assistance." The school district and police confirmed to KEYT that he was taken by ambulance and treated, including surgery.

ID in his wallet, never asked for

The student told KEYT that two people in uniforms marked "POLICE" and "ICE" tackled him without warning and asked his name, birth date and citizenship. He said he answered, and that he had legal ID in his wallet the whole time, but no one asked to see it. He said he was released around 7:20 a.m.

Santa Maria police obtained security footage from a grocery store across the street that confirmed the agents were ICE, according to Soto and KEYT. Police notified the district attorney and the California Attorney General, the district said. Neither office has announced an investigation.

Who is speaking up

Antonio Garcia, superintendent of the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, said the district is committed to "safe, protected, and welcoming spaces" for students and families. Soto called it "unacceptable," wrote that "our children should never have to fear for their safety in their own community," and asked Mayor Alice Patino for a special council meeting. As of Friday morning, Noozhawk reported, none was scheduled. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, called the incident "outrageous" in a post on X, the Santa Barbara News-Press reported.

A coalition including 805 UndocuFund, CAUSE, MICOP and Santa Maria Indivisible is demanding an independent investigation and asking the city to state that it will not help ICE. 805 UndocuFund called a rally for Saturday, Oct. 24. The group counts more than 200 people detained or unaccounted for in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties since Oct. 5, KSBY reported.

The "brief encounter" that wasn't

The Fourth Amendment bars unreasonable searches and seizures, which means agents need a real, specific reason to stop you. In September 2025, the Supreme Court lifted a lower-court order in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo that had barred immigration agents in Los Angeles from stopping people based on factors like their job, their language or how they look. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, concurring, wrote that a citizen stopped this way will be "free to go after the brief encounter", and that the Fourth Amendment forbids excessive force. Three justices dissented. In Santa Maria, the "brief encounter" ended in an ambulance.

We condemn the use of force that sent a disabled student on his way to class to surgery, and we join the call for an independent investigation.

If you work in a community where ICE is active, being a citizen does not keep you from being stopped. Carry ID, stay calm, ask whether you are free to leave, and say you are choosing to remain silent. Our guide on what to do if ICE comes to your work covers your rights on the job, and our report on the San Diego ICE surge at construction sites shows how the same push is reaching job sites.

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