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FBI, St. Paul Police Probing ICE Arrest02/18 06:14
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Minnesota and federal authorities are investigating the
alleged beating of a Mexican citizen by immigration officers last month,
seeking to identify what caused the eight skull fractures that landed the man
in the intensive care unit of a Minneapolis hospital.
Investigators from the St. Paul Police Department and FBI last week
canvassed the shopping center parking lot where Alberto Castaeda Mondragn
says Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents wrested him from a vehicle,
threw him to the ground and repeatedly struck him in the head with a steel
baton.
ICE has blamed Castaeda Mondragn for his own injuries, saying he attempted
to flee while handcuffed and "fell and hit his head against a concrete wall."
But hospital staff who treated the man told The Associated Press such a fall
could not plausibly account for the man's brain hemorrhaging and fragmented
memory. A CT scan showed fractures to the front, back and both sides of his
skull -- injuries a doctor told the AP were inconsistent with a fall.
Earlier this month, the AP published an interview with Castaeda Mondragn
in which he said the arresting officers had been "racist" and " started beating
me right away when they arrested me." His lawyers have contended ICE racially
profiled him.
In separate visits to the shopping center last week, local and federal
investigators requested surveillance footage from at least two businesses,
whose employees told the AP their cameras either did not capture the Jan. 8
arrest or the images had been overwritten because more than a month passed
before law enforcement asked for the video.
Johnny Ratana, who owns Teepwo Market, an Asian grocery store that faces the
parking lot where the arrest occurred, said St. Paul police twice sent
investigators to the business in recent days. The second time, he said, a data
technician sought to recover images automatically overwritten after 30 days.
Ratana said he also was visited by FBI agents interested in the same footage.
The St. Paul Police Department did not respond to requests for comment. The
FBI declined to comment.
The investigations come amid another federal probe into whether two ICE
officers lied under oath about a shooting in Minneapolis. Federal prosecutors
dropped charges against two Venezuelan men -- who had been accused of attacking
one of the officers with a snow shovel and broom handle -- after video evidence
contradicted the officers' sworn testimony.
The FBI, meanwhile, notified Minnesota authorities last week it would not
share any information or evidence it collected in the Jan. 24 fatal shooting of
Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers. That killing is the subject of a
Justice Department civil rights investigation.
For weeks, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security refused to discuss any
aspect of Castaeda Mondragn's injuries. It has not answered detailed
questions from the AP, including whether its officers recorded body-worn camera
footage of the arrest.
Agency insists man injured himself
But the agency last week doubled down on its claim that Castaeda Mondragn
injured himself.
"On January 8, 2026, ICE conducted a targeted enforcement operation to
arrest Alberto Castaneda Mondragon, a 31-year-old illegal alien from Mexico who
overstayed his visa," said Tricia McLaughlin, the department's assistant
secretary for public affairs. "While in handcuffs, Castaneda attempted to
escape custody and ran toward a main highway. While running, Castaneda fell and
hit his head against a concrete wall."
McLaughlin's assertion that Castaeda Mondragn had been targeted for
removal was contradicted by a Jan. 20 court filing in which ICE said officers
only determined the man overstayed his work visa after he was in custody.
McLaughlin did not respond to questions about which account was correct.
Castaeda Mondragn's lawyers declined to comment on ICE's statement.
Delay could affect investigations
The criminal investigations could be complicated by the amount of time it
took law enforcement to look into the arrest, even as several elected officials
called for answers.
St. Paul police told the AP on Feb. 5 that it was aware of "the serious
allegations" surrounding the arrest but that it could not begin investigating
Castaeda Mondragn's injuries until he filed a police report -- a step that
was delayed weeks because of the man's hospitalization and uncertainty over his
immigration status. Police finally took his statement a week ago at the Mexican
consulate.
By that point, at least one nearby business had overwritten its surveillance
footage.
"It is my expectation that we will investigate past and future allegations
of criminal conduct by federal agents to seek the truth and hold accountable
anyone who has violated Minnesota law," John Choi, the chief prosecutor of
Ramsey County, said in a statement.
Castaeda Mondragn has been summoned to meet with ICE on Feb. 23 at its
main detention facility in Minneapolis, raising the potential he could be taken
back into custody and deported.
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