You can't hide your lying ICE: The harassment of Francisco Longoria
Federal immigration officers racially profiled a man, fired at his truck, raided his home at 4 am, and arrested him. Then they lied about it all -- both in public and in court.
Note: This post is a second in a series about incidents in which federal immigration officers and DHS have brazenly lied about their abuse. You can read the first post here.
In August of last year, Francisco Longoria, his 18-year-old son, and his 23-year-old son-in-law were in Longoria’s work truck, driving in San Bernardino, California, when three unmarked vehicles driven by federal immigration officers cut him off and pulled him over for an “immigration check.” A federal prosecutor would later struggle when asked by a judge to explain what “immigration check” means. It means they racially profiled him.
Longoria is undocumented, but has lived in the United States for 23 years. He has no criminal record, nor does he have a removal order.
As the armed, masked agents approached the car, the men were understandably apprehensive. Within seconds, agents shattered the windows from either side. One agent punched Longoria in the face while another reached for his son. Longoria stepped on the accelerator and sped away. As he drove off, at least one agent then opened fire, leaving bullet holes on the passenger side of the truck. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Here’s video of the incident taken by Longoria’s son-in-law from the back seat:
San Bernardino police later showed up at the site of the stop after getting reports of shots fired. They wrote up a report of the incident. Longoria’s brother-in-law called 911 as they drove home.
Later that day, federal agents showed up at Longoria’s home and demanded that he come out and surrender. Neighbors came out to support the family. Soon protesters showed up, too, and the affair escalated into an hours-long standoff. The San Bernardino police came out for crowd control, but refused to assist with arresting Longoria, citing state laws prohibiting local police from cooperating with immigration enforcement.
DHS eventually put out a press release claiming that Longoria “attempted to run [federal officers] down with his car.” The statement added, “The suspect drove directly at the officers, striking two with his vehicle. In response to this violent act, a CBP officer was forced to discharge his firearm in self-defense.” (The release doesn’t use Longoria’s name, but it’s the August 16 incident in the link.)
DHS also criticized the San Bernardino police. The department “briefly had [Longoria] in custody—only to release him,” DHS wrote. “This reckless decision came despite the subject’s outright refusal to comply and his wounding of two federal officers. It is yet another tragic example of California’s pro-sanctuary policies that shield criminals instead of protecting communities.”
But the reason San Bernardino police didn’t assist in the arrest is because Longoria hadn’t committed a crime. His only transgression was to be in the country without documentation, and that isn’t a criminal offense. In their initial report, the local police wrote explicitly that Longoria did not strike any federal agents with his car. If any federal agents had been wounded, as DHS claimed, that would have been in the report. It wasn’t. (When later asked by a federal judge to describe the injuries to the officers, a federal prosecutor replied that he was “not aware of any injuries.”)
No matter. Twelve days after the standoff, federal agents returned to Longoria’s home at 4 am. They brought an armored personnel carrier and the agents pointed their rifles at his door while one demanded over a bullhorn that he come out. They had obtained a warrant for his arrest on a charge of assaulting federal officers. They arrested him and took him into custody.
By the time of Longoria’s hearing for the assault charge 10 days later, his attorneys had found surveillance video of the stop from a camera down the block. Here’s a news clip that includes that video:
As you can see, Longoria did not attempt to run over any agents. He did not attempt to run them over. He fled the stop because a bunch of masked men shattered his windows and assaulted him and his son. There’s no evidence that he struck the agents with his vehicle even accidentally, and the video clearly disproves the claim that he drove directly at them. The agents lied. As did DHS. They lied to the public, they lied to obtain an arrest warrant, and they likely lied in both immigration and federal court.
At Longoria’s hearing, a federal judge dismissed the assault charge, citing a lack of evidence.
Unfortunately, federal immigration officers then immediately arrested Longoria again, this time for his undocumented status. He was incarcerated for three months while his attorneys filed a habeas petition to have him released. A federal district court judge ordered him released on bond in December. He’s currently fighting his deportation.
From what I can tell, none of the officers who fired at Longoria’s truck, lied about him intentionally hitting them, or lied to an obtain an arrest warrant for assault have been disciplined in any way.
We still don’t even know their names.