Federal agents have abused and terrorized countless people. We must demand justice for their victims.
For over a year, the Trump administration has flooded communities across the country with ICE agents and other federal law enforcement officers, using violence and intimidation to spread fear among us all. This purported immigration enforcement is affecting people regardless of their legal status, their ties to the community, or whether they pose any threat to public safety.
In recent weeks ICE has killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine, following the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. Dozens more people have died in ICE's detention centers.
Federal law enforcement are committing civil rights violations at a scale without precedent in our nation’s recent history, and with the support of an administration that encourages violence and disregard for the law.
Accountability for Maine People
We filed five administrative claims against the federal government on behalf of people who suffered abuse at the hands of rogue federal immigration agents. The filings are part of a coordinated nationwide effort by the ACLU involving 54 claims across 17 states and Washington, D.C.
The five claims were filed on behalf of two individuals and one family who suffered abuse at the hands of federal agents. The claims collectively seek over $5 million in damages, and they were filed with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
These civil rights violations are not rare. They are systemic, and they are the result of deliberate decisions made within the Department of Homeland Security – and we are demanding accountability.
In one case, masked agents took a man from his Maine home and detained him in Massachusetts for 43 days with no justification. In a second case, an individual was racially profiled, violently arrested, and unlawfully detained after agents smashed his car window. In the third, ICE agents violently broke a man’s driver's side window, spraying broken glass over the man and his family. After violently dragging him out of his car, ICE unlawfully detained him for three weeks.
No one should be above the law, so when government officials violate people’s rights, they must be held accountable, just as any of us would be.
A Nationwide Fight for Accountability
Our claims are part of a nationwide fight against the Trump administration’s illegal conduct. They were filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), one of the few legal tools available to seek financial compensation for wrongdoing by federal employees. Through this coordinated effort, ACLU affiliates are representing dozens of people and families who are seeking justice for the harm they experienced at the hands of federal immigration agents.
Each of the 54 FTCA claims that have been filed tells an individual story of someone who was brutalized by immigration agents. Together, they reveal a widespread pattern of civil rights violations and abuse carried out by officials nationwide, affecting people who are immigrants, U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, families, workers, and people exercising their constitutional rights.
These are not isolated incidents. Since the beginning of President Trump's second term, federal immigration agents have terrorized communities while showing a blatant disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law. Each of the 54 FTCA claims tells the story of someone who was brutalized by immigration agents. Together, they show a disturbing pattern of civil rights violations and abuses affecting immigrants, U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, workers, families, and people exercising their constitutional rights.
A recent ACLU report documenting more than 1,200 immigration enforcement incidents across eight states found over 400 instances of alleged misconduct, including excessive force, racial profiling, intimidation, and abuse. These civil rights violations are not rare. They are systemic, and they are the result of deliberate decisions made within the Department of Homeland Security – and we are demanding accountability.
The Claims in Detail
Incident 1 (3 claims):
ICE arrested Mr. Diallo, an asylum seeker living in Maine, while he was driving home with his family. Several years earlier, ICE had released Mr. Diallo on his own recognizance. Since then, Mr. Diallo had complied with all conditions of release. However, ICE agents stopped Mr. Diallo after randomly encountering him in traffic and detained him without any contemporaneous warrant or probable cause to believe he presented an escape risk.
During the stop, ICE agents violently broke the driver's side window, spraying broken glass over the entire family, including a baby. After violently dragging Mr. Diallo out of his car, ICE detained him for three weeks until he was able to obtain an attorney who filed a successful habeas petition. The violent and senseless incident was traumatic for the entire family.
Incident 2 (1 Claim): Masked Agents Enter Home, Unlawfully Detain Man
On January 20, 2026, masked agents came to Elias Tesfaye’s home and arrested him during the surge in operations known as “Operations Catch of the Day.” Mr. Tesfaye had been living and working in Maine for over a decade. Since being released from ICE custody in 2013, he had complied with all the terms of his release.
Despite his compliance, masked agents took him from his home, handcuffed him, and transported him to Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts. After nearly a month in detention – during which he developed PTSD, had a panic attack, and was prescribed Prozac that he must take to this day – Mr. Tesfaye was finally able to contact a lawyer.
His lawyer filed a habeas petition on his behalf, arguing that the federal government had no justification for detaining him. The government never even attempted to justify its decision to arrest Mr. Tesfaye. Instead, ICE released him without ever responding to the habeas petition.
Mr. Tesfaye was ultimately released on March 3, 2026, forty-three days after his groundless arrest. More than six months after he was wrongly arrested, Mr. Tesfaye still feels intense anxiety every time he hears a knock on the door.
Incident 3 (1 Claim): Agents Smash Window, Violently Arrest, and Unlawfully Detain Driver
On January 22, 2026, an individual was racially profiled, violently arrested, and unlawfully detained after agents smashed his car window. He was dragged out of his car, handcuffed, and taken to an ICE facility.
ICE Out of Maine
This work comes during an important week in Maine. On Wednesday, three new ICE Out of Maine laws took effect: ICE Out of Policing, ICE Out of Our Homes, and ICE Out of Schools and State Healthcare. Together, these laws help ensure that Maine's public officials and resources are never used to support the kind of reckless and abusive federal immigration operations described in these claims.
Everyone in Maine deserves to live, work, and raise healthy families without fear of unlawful government abuse and violence.
Join the Fight to Keep ICE Out of Maine
While the state of Maine only has the authority to regulate what is under its own jurisdiction, ICE Out laws will make every community safer.
However, these protections will only work if they're fully implemented. A wide range of public officials oversee many of the local systems affected by these laws, including county commissioners, mayors, police chiefs, superintendents, and sheriffs.
