We're suing federal agents for abducting a Portland resident and violating his civil rights during the January immigration crackdown known as "Operation Catch of the Day."
On January 22, while driving to work, Juan Sebastián Carvajal-Muñoz was abruptly blocked by an unmarked SUV and violently abducted by federal agents.
Even though Mr. Carvajal-Muñoz complied and posed no threat, agents smashed his car window, dragged him out at taser-point, handcuffed him, and placed him in the SUV. They left his car running in the street, door open, keys and bag inside, and his phone lying on the pavement.
Masked agent "John Doe No. 1" and masked agent "Jane Doe No. 1" exiting the unmarked SUV to surround Carvajal-Muñoz's vehicle.
Agents targeted Carvajal-Muñoz based on his race or ethnicity and had no legal basis for the stop and arrest. They refused to examine documents proving his legal status.
Over the next 16 hours, agents placed Mr. Carvajal-Muñoz in shackles and moved him between various unmarked vehicles and locations in Maine and Massachusetts, alongside other detainees – all of whom were people of color.
Agents refused to release Mr. Carvajal-Muñoz even after they'd been instructed to do so. Instead, they locked him in a windowless cell in a Massachusetts Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. Then, as suddenly as he had been detained, Mr. Carvajal-Muñoz was released in Massachusetts after 9 p.m. that night, forced to find his own way home.
—I came to Maine to study engineering and work hard. Even though I followed all the rules, federal agents targeted me based on my race.
Juan Sebastián Carvajal-Muñoz
Mr. Carvajal-Muñoz is an engineer living and working in Portland on a valid work visa. He earned his degree at the University of Maine and hopes to continue building a life here.
Our lawsuit asserts that federal agents violated Mr. Carvajal-Muñoz's Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights by racially profiling and stopping him with no reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, unlawfully arresting him, using excessive force, and unjustifiably prolonging his detention.
This case could re-establish a crucial legal avenue for people to hold federal officials accountable for civil rights violations under state law.
The U.S. Supreme Court has made it incredibly difficult to hold federal officials accountable for violating people's rights. But the Maine Civil Rights Act allows people to bring claims against any government official who violates their constitutional rights – whether local, state, or federal.
When the Department of Homeland Security announced "Operation Catch of the Day," we watched in horror as federal agents terrorized our families, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and communities. Mr. Carvajal-Muñoz's story is not an isolated incident, and immigration officers continue to operate in Maine. But we're sending a clear message: Simply being a federal agent is not a license to violate Maine people's constitutional rights.
