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Rep. Cuellar requests body cam footage in U.S. citizen Alamo teens ICE arrest case

One teen alleges officers broke his wrist and deported his mother in retaliation. DHS disputes the account of the arrest, calling the pair "anti-ICE agitators" who obstructed officers.

Rep. Cuellar requests body cam footage in U.S. citizen Alamo teens ICE arrest case
Ranking member Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, questions DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security hearing in June. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

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U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said Tuesday he has asked the Department of Homeland Security for body camera video of the arrest of two U.S. citizen teens that happened in Alamo, Texas earlier this month, reported ValleyCentral.

  • One of the teens, Luis Ochoa, says he was pepper sprayed. Video recorded by bystanders shows the other teen being struck repeatedly by one of the officers.
  • The 17-year-old teens, traveling to meet with Marine recruiters, stopped to video record immigration agents arresting people near Santos Livas Elementary School when ICE officers detained them, Ochoa said
“I did make those requests of the body camera videos and of course the investigation,” Cuellar told ValleyCentral on a visit to Harlingen this week. “We did provide money for de-escalation and, you know, I saw the videos of the social media so we have a lot of questions.”

Ochoa also alleges officers broke his wrist, and DHS disputes the account, calling the pair "anti-ICE agitators" who obstructed officers. The teens were held roughly eight hours and released, and Alamo police forwarded the case to the DHS inspector general.

On Monday, Ochoa's mother was detained by immigration officers at her place of work and immediately deported. Ochoa claims his mother, Teresa Ochoa, said officers told her she was being arrested because of social media posts she made about the incident.

On ValleyCentral: Rep. Cuellar addresses immigration operations, data centers in the Valley

Alamo teen arrested on video says ICE detained his mother, and local advocate says she was deported
Luis Ochoa, whose arrest by ICE agents in Alamo was caught on video, says his mother was detained Monday after she spoke out online. An advocate says she has already been deported.

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