Maine engineer sues DHS agents for ‘racially-profiled’ arrest
A Colombian man studying and working in Maine sued several federal immigration officers whom he said racially profiled him when arresting him in January. The lawsuit comes after a Minnesota prosecutor said he’s investigating agents for kidnapping a Hmong-American man.
Juan Sebastián Carvajal-Muñoz was driving to work in January when federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security stopped and detained him in downtown Portland. Agents drove him to a processing facility in Massachusetts before releasing him, he said in court papers.
Carvajal-Muñoz did not have a criminal record.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit on Carvajal-Muñoz’s behalf, said in a release that the Jan. 22 arrest was an “abduction” and agents disregarded the engineer’s REAL ID. According to the Maine Secretary of State, noncitizens can get a REAL ID if they prove legal residence in the U.S., which can include a visa or Form I-94. Carvajal-Muñoz showed agents his I-94 arrival/departure letter, which U.S. Customs and Border Patrol certifies.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, claimed agents stopped Carvajal-Muñoz without probable cause, arrested him without a warrant, used excessive force and racially profiled the man. DHS didn’t immediately respond to Straight Arrow News’ request for comment.
“The abduction of Mr. Carvajal-Muñoz has made the weight of our Constitutional rights clear: no one is safe when federal agents can harm people without consequence,” Scott Michelman, legal director for the ACLU’s Washington, D.C., office, said in the release.
The lawsuit follows a Monday announcement from Ramsey County Prosecutor John Choi that his St. Paul office is reviewing several cases against DHS agents for actions exhibited during Operation Metro Surge. One particular case involved a Hmong-American citizen who was detained wearing only underwear and a blanket in January.
Carvajal-Muñoz said in a Tuesday release that he immigrated to Maine in 2021 to pursue a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Maine. He currently holds an H1B work visa for a civil engineering job focused on bridge construction in Maine.
The engineer isn’t suing DHS as an entity. Rather, in agents’ individual capacities, which is permitted under Maine’s Civil Rights Act. The law allows Mainers who believe a government official violated their constitutional rights to seek legal recourse. He named Jack Cory Ravencamp, one Jane Doe, and three John Does in the lawsuit, all of whom he assumed to work in some capacity with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or DHS.
“The law should provide a remedy for what happened to Mr. Carvajal-Muñoz,” Matthew Segal, co-director of the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, said in a statement. “If federal law doesn’t, state law still can. And in Maine, it does.”
Man detained in Maine, released in Massachusetts
According to court papers, Carvajal-Muñoz was on his way to work on Jan. 22 when federal officers surrounded his car and demanded to see his immigration documents.
An agent allegedly smashed Carvajal-Muñoz’s window with a crowbar, and another masked agent dragged him out of his car. At that point, according to the lawsuit, an officer pointed a Taser at the man before formally arresting him.
“At the time the agents stopped Sebastián, the only information they had about him was his physical appearance and the fact that the vehicle was registered to a Hispanic-sounding name, ‘Juan Sebastián Carvajal-Muñoz,’” according to the lawsuit. “The agents had no basis to stop Sebastián other than his apparent race, skin color or ethnicity.”
No information was immediately available on what agents knew about Carvajal-Muñoz leading up to the arrest. Neither DHS nor ICE has made public statements about the man’s arrest.
Carvajal-Muñoz recalled the agents driving around the city for an hour before stopping at Home Depot, where they checked his immigration status and another agent took the man’s photograph for a “Catch of the Day” form.
The engineer told agents he travels with his I-94 form in his wallet.
“The agents told Sebastián that his H1-B visa would be revoked and he would be taken to an immigration judge in Massachusetts,” according to the lawsuit. “Sebastián felt powerless and helpless. He knew he had all his paperwork and had done nothing wrong, and yet this meant nothing to the agent.”
Despite telling Carvajal-Muñoz he’d be picked up by someone else, agents drove around Portland for an hour before taking him to a suburb about 15 miles southwest of the city, the lawsuit alleges. Hours later, agents drove Carvajal-Munoz and other detainees to a Burlington, Massachusetts, ICE facility.
He was released nearly 12 hours after his initial detention and took a bus back to Portland.
Minnesota investigating DHS for kidnapping, other charges
Choi told reporters Monday his office is pursuing several investigations linked to DHS agents’ actions during Operation Metro Surge. He noted that tips from Ramsey County residents, which includes Minnesota’s state capital of St. Paul, have helped his office.
He only spoke about one case — ChongLy “Scott” Thao. In his case, Choi said agents are being actively investigated for felonious kidnapping, illegal detainment and false imprisonment.
Thao was arrested in January and photographed walking out of his home wearing only blue underwear and a plaid blanket. Images of his arrest spread quickly online and drew sharp condemnation from the public and St. Paul officials.
DHS has said agents were investigating two sex offenders who lived at Thao’s address. County officials said Monday they couldn’t see how Thao could be considered a match.
Choi and Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said agents didn’t have a warrant to enter the home, and Thao has been a naturalized citizen for several decades.
The two said Monday that they are still accepting tips from residents and said accountability from the federal government could involve more criminal cases, civil lawsuits or a jury trial.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
