ICE agents tell hospital Mexican man ‘purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall’ but the CT scan suggests a different story

A Mexican man who was badly beaten last month by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is now speaking out. Alberto Castañeda Mondragón, a 31-year-old father, was left with a skull broken in eight places and five brain bleeds. ICE agents told hospital staff that he “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall.”

According to Raw Story, Mr. Castañeda Mondragón was taken to the emergency room at Hennepin County Medical Center suffering from eight skull breaks, multiple broken facial bones, and five brain bleeds. His caretakers immediately doubted the story the agents gave. One nurse, speaking anonymously, said the claim was “laughable, if there was something to laugh about.” The nurse added that there was “no way this person ran headfirst into a wall.”

A CT scan showed that the breaks weren’t limited to one point of impact. The injuries showed damage to the front, back, and both sides of his skull. That kind of widespread damage does not match running headfirst into a single wall. Mr. Castañeda Mondragón said there was never any wall involved.

Medical evidence contradicts ICE agents’ explanation of injuries

The assault happened when ICE agents pulled Mr. Castañeda Mondragón from a friend’s car outside a shopping center in St. Paul, Minnesota. Mr. Castañeda Mondragón said the agents started beating him right after they threw him to the ground and handcuffed him. They used both fists and a steel baton to attack him.

After the initial beating, agents dragged him into an SUV and took him to a holding facility at Ft. Snelling in suburban Minneapolis. He says the beating continued there. He asked his attackers to stop, but he remembers that they just “laughed at me and hit me again.” He said the agents were very racist toward him and the other person they detained. Reports of ICE going door to door have sparked widespread concern among immigrant communities.

The agents’ behavior continued to be troubling even after Mr. Castañeda Mondragón was taken to the hospital. He was barely responsive, confused, and heavily sedated for the first week of his nearly three-week stay. During this time, agents refused to leave the hospital, saying he was under ICE custody. 

They even shackled his legs with handcuffs, despite requests from hospital staff not to restrain him. A judge had to step in to secure his release. US District Judge Donovan W. Frank ruled that ICE was unlawfully holding Mr. Castañeda Mondragón and ordered his immediate release.

Judge Frank’s ruling noted that ICE agents had mostly refused to tell hospital staff and lawyers about the cause of his condition, saying only that “he got his s— rocked” and that he ran into a brick wall. This case follows a controversial investigation shutdown by officials involving another ICE-related incident.

Mr. Castañeda Mondragón, who legally entered the country in 2022 but stayed past his visa, now faces a long recovery. His memory was damaged by the beating. He said he couldn’t remember at first that he had a daughter, and he couldn’t even bathe himself after leaving the hospital.

Since he worked as a driver and a roofer, he is now unable to work and has no health insurance. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help him cover his medical and living costs until he can work again.