ICE Arrest Leaves 45-Year-Old José Mejía Hernandez With Brain Bleed as Virginia Officials Seek Inquiry
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 20
ICE Arrest Leaves 45-Year-Old José Mejía Hernandez With Brain Bleed as Virginia Officials Seek Inquiry
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 20
Summary
Medical records reviewed by the Guardian show José Mejía Hernandez, 45, was diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury and a subarachnoid bleed after ICE agents arrested him in Arlington on 11 August.
His lawyers say agents chased him from an unmarked vehicle, used a stun gun and left him with severe facial bruising; DHS says he tried to flee, officers used "necessary force" and his account of blacking out is false.
An ankle monitor attached after his release delayed an ordered MRI for several days, his lawyer said, because he had to return to an ICE office with paperwork to get it temporarily removed.
Photos of his injuries spread widely online, and Representative Don Beyer and Arlington prosecutor Parisa Dehghani-Tafti called for a thorough investigation amid other recent complaints about ICE encounters in northern Virginia.