Summary
In Minnesota, a case involving injuries to a man held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement has brought new scrutiny to how federal officers describe detainees’ medical conditions and how armed immigration enforcement interacts with hospital care.
The Associated Press reported that ICE agents brought Alberto Castañeda Mondragón to a Minneapolis hospital after he suffered facial and skull injuries and severe bleeding in his brain while in federal custody. In court filings submitted by a lawyer seeking his release, ICE initially claimed he had tried to flee while handcuffed and “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall.” But staff members at Hennepin County Medical Center told the AP that the injuries and the bleeding did not align with an accidental fall or a running headfirst impact, describing the account as implausible.
AP also reported that ICE’s description of how he was hurt shifted while officers were at his bedside. Court records and hospital staff told the AP that at least one ICE officer told caregivers that Castañeda Mondragón “got his (expletive) rocked” after his Jan. 8 arrest near a St. Paul shopping center—an arrest that came a day after the first of two fatal Minneapolis shootings in that period by immigration officers.
Castañeda Mondragón’s case began with a detention intake process. The court records included an arrest warrant signed upon his arrival by an ICE officer, not an immigration judge. About four hours after his arrest, he was taken to an emergency room in suburban Edina with swelling and bruising around his right eye and bleeding, according to court documents reviewed by the AP. A CT scan showed at least eight skull fractures and life-threatening hemorrhages in at least five areas of his brain, and he was transferred to Hennepin County Medical Center.
At the hospital, documents described Castañeda Mondragón as alert and speaking to staff, telling them he was “dragged and mistreated by federal agents,” though his condition deteriorated quickly, the filings said. A later filing described him as minimally responsive and communicative, disoriented and heavily sedated. The AP reported that ICE did not respond to repeated requests for comment on his injuries, while a deportation officer addressed medical treatment in the court filings by saying that during intake at an ICE detention center it was determined he “had a head injury that required emergency medical treatment.”
Castañeda Mondragón’s lawyers argued that he had been racially profiled during the crackdown and that officers determined only after his arrest that he had overstayed his visa, the AP reported. The AP described his immigration history as having begun with entry in 2022 with valid documents, and it said Minnesota incorporation filings show he founded a company called Castaneda Construction the following year with an address listed in St. Paul. The AP reported that his lawyers said he appears to have no criminal record and that he has a 10-year-old daughter in his hometown in Mexico.
In the hospital, nurses and an outside physician told the AP that the injuries were inconsistent with ICE’s wall-impact explanation. One nurse, interviewed on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss patient care, told the AP: “It was laughable, if there was something to laugh about.” The nurse added, “There was no way this person ran headfirst into a wall.”
The case also included a legal turning point. More than two weeks after his arrest, a U.S. District Court judge ordered Castañeda Mondragón released from ICE custody, the AP reported. The AP said he was discharged from the hospital that Tuesday, and a hospital spokeswoman said she had no information about his current condition or location. The following Wednesday, the Justice Department filed documents affirming to the judge that he was no longer in federal custody.
AP reported that after his release, his younger brother said Castañeda Mondragón has no family in Minnesota and that coworkers took him in. The AP said the man has significant memory loss and a long recovery ahead, with friends and family concerned about paying for his care. Another statement cited by the AP came from Gregorio Castañeda Mondragón, who lives in Mexico, saying, “He still doesn’t remember things that happened. I think (he remembers) 20% of the 100% he had.”
Beyond the medical dispute, the AP reported that hospital staff described a wider pattern that has unsettled employees during the period when immigration officers were present in critical care units. Staff said ICE officers entered the hospital with seriously injured detainees and stayed at their bedsides day after day, and they said officers were seen loitering on hospital grounds and asking patients and employees for proof of citizenship. Nurses interviewed by the AP said they felt intimidated and described being told to avoid a certain bathroom to minimize encounters with officers, while they said staff used an encrypted messaging app to compare notes and share information out of fear the government might monitor communications.
Hospital officials said they reminded employees that ICE officers are not permitted to access patients or protected information without a warrant or court order. The hospital also reminded staff that no shackles or other restraints should be used unless medically necessary, and it posted protocols for patient treatment. “Patients under federal custody are first and foremost patients,” hospital officials wrote in a bulletin outlining new protocols, according to the AP.
The hospital spokeswoman, Alisa Harris, told the AP that ICE agents “have not entered our facilities looking for individuals.” At least one doctor, interviewed by the AP on condition of anonymity because the physician was not authorized to comment for the hospital, said in the AP report that hospital policies exist but that “ICE personnel as federal officers don’t necessarily comply with those,” which the doctor said introduces tension.