A 79-year-old US citizen named Rafie Ollah Shouhed says he was roughed up by ICE during a raid at his car wash in Los Angeles, and now he’s filed a $50 million claim against the government.
From his side of the story, he was just trying to show agents that his workers had the right papers when things escalated. Security cameras apparently caught agents shoving him inside, then body-slamming him outside, pinning him down, cuffing him, and one even putting a knee on his neck. He says they ignored his heart condition, kept him locked up for about 12 hours, and wouldn’t let him call his family. By the time they let him go, he wasn’t charged with anything. He walked away with broken ribs, a brain injury, and a lot of bruises.
His lawyer is arguing that it’s not just excessive force, but a straight-up civil rights violation. The claim accuses ICE and DHS of assault, deliberate indifference to his medical needs, and emotional abuse, among other things. Basically, they’re saying if this can happen to an elderly U.S. citizen in broad daylight, what protections do the rest of us have?
ICE’s response is that Shouhed “assaulted or impeded” an officer during the raid, which is why he was detained. But again, he wasn’t charged in the end. That detail is probably going to matter if this goes to court. For now, the government has six months to either settle or deny his claim before he can officially sue in federal court.
It’s not the first time US citizens have accused immigration agents of going too far in Southern California. These raids often turn messy, and critics have long warned that innocent people or bystanders can get swept up. Beyond Shouhed’s personal story, the bigger issue is whether ICE agents are being held accountable when force is used.
If his case makes it to court, it could set an important precedent about what lines federal agents can’t cross, especially when it comes to verifying citizenship and providing medical care during detention. Either way, this is going to add more fuel to the debate over how immigration enforcement is carried out.
