Two Latino young men who are U.S. citizens endured harrowing moments during an encounter with ICE agents on Monday, Jan. 5, in the town of Salisbury—an incident they recorded on their cellphones.
The encounter occurred around 8:00 a.m., when Edwin Godínez, 29, and his half brother, Yair Alexander Nápoles, 22, were heading to a parking lot near their home to retrieve a truck that earlier had been driven by two of their workers, who were detained by ICE agents.
How the assault unfolded
Teresa De la Rosa told Enlace Latino NC that her family runs a construction company and that when her son Edwin and stepson Yair arrived at the location, they were intercepted by immigration agents.
“They asked for their papers, and Yair, who was in the passenger seat, handed the agent their driver’s licenses,” De la Rosa said.
In the original video—more than five minutes long and reviewed by Enlace Latino NC—Yair asks an agent who was not wearing a mask at the time whether, for his own safety, he could record with his cellphone. The agent replied “sure” and then covered his face with a mask.
The mother said that shortly afterward, while the agent was checking the young men’s immigration status, other agents arrived and the struggle began.
“A dark-skinned agent and a white agent arrived and said they couldn’t record, and they started attacking them inside the vehicle. The dark-skinned agent began assaulting my son—he hurt his face, pushed him, ripped off his earring and scratched his neck, punched him in the chest and abdomen. They took his cellphone and the car keys,” De la Rosa explained. “They mistreated Edwin as well,” she added.
No clear policy on use of force
Regarding ICE agents’ use of force during operations, the agency does not have a clear public policy.
In August, during an interview by Enlace Latino NC and the Charlotte Observer, María Somers, deputy field office director for ICE’s Charlotte Field Office, said that “people are often very defiant.”
“Everything depends on the situation and the level of cooperation of the person. The truth is, we are making an arrest and people start running or fighting,” Somers said.
The Salisbury incident occurred two days before a tragic event in Minneapolis, where a white woman was shot and killed by an ICE agent during an immigration operation in a neighborhood there.
Conflicting accounts emerged following the shooting. While DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the woman “used her vehicle as a weapon, attempting to run over agents,” local officials said they had seen a video that refuted those claims.
The organization Voto Latino demanded that DHS take responsibility for the woman’s death.
“What happened in Minneapolis is unconscionable. A woman lost her life at the hands of ICE agents operating in our neighborhoods, where witness accounts do not align with DHS statements, and there is no justification for the level of force that continues to be deployed against our communities. Our hearts are with the family and loved ones of the woman in Minneapolis whose life was unjustly taken,” the organization said in a statement.
Carrying proof of immigration status
Somers said that in some cases it is not clear whether the people ICE detains are U.S. citizens.
“If they don’t have proof of citizenship or status or whatever, that perception may come from there. But at the end of the day, we are not going to arrest someone who doesn’t belong. That is not acceptable,” she said.
Because most people who are legally in the country typically carry only a driver’s license, Somers was asked whether citizens should carry a U.S. passport and residents a green card.
“That’s what they should already be doing. When asked, you are supposed to be able to present identification and documentation that proves you are here legally,” the deputy director said.
Outrage over racial profiling arrests
The organization Siembra NC confirmed the Salisbury incident in a statement and expressed outrage.
“From small rural towns to metropolitan centers, ICE is starting the new year arriving in unmarked vehicles, tactical gear and masks to detain essential workers and mistreat anyone who crosses their path,” said Siembra co-director Nikki Marín Baena.
Godínez said in the statement that they “demand that agents stop abusing the community.” The young man is a graduate of North Roan High School. “They are arresting working people, not hardened criminals,” he added.
Nápoles said federal agents should not be targeting the immigrant community because of the color of their skin.
“They kept telling me, ‘you’re not a citizen, you’re not a citizen,’ even when I told them I was—just because of how I look,” said Nápoles, who was born in Roxboro, North Carolina.
A traumatic experience
According to their mother, the family is in “shock” after the incident.
“It’s a trauma. They are still in pain, and neither they nor I can sleep. I even had to go to the emergency room that day because I felt so unwell,” she said.
De la Rosa, who also arrived at the parking lot, recorded a video showing her sons’ vehicle surrounded by several ICE agents, one of whom orders her to keep her distance.
“I arrived after everything had already happened, but it seems they realized the boys were citizens and told them to leave,” she said.
The two workers detained earlier—Guatemalan nationals—were supervisors at the family business that De la Rosa and her husband started seven years ago.
Preparing to file a formal complaint
De la Rosa said the family plans to file a formal complaint against ICE agents.
“I think it was excessive, and they violated their rights even though they are citizens,” she said. “My son told them several times that they were citizens, but they didn’t believe him.”
She said they have already contacted attorney Carnell Johnson because they believe the two young men were subjected to abuse and racism.
“Why didn’t they wait for the result of the other agent’s call to confirm they were citizens? All of this chaos could have been avoided,” she said.
Johnson told Telemundo Charlotte that “there was a violation of the two young men’s constitutional rights.”
“The agent says in the video, ‘put your phone down’—that is a violation of the Constitution,” the attorney said.
Enlace Latino NC contacted ICE spokeswoman Lindsay Williams to request a statement regarding the incident, but as of publication, she had not responded.
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