A video showing federal immigration agents detaining two Target employees in the Minneapolis area is drawing outrage online, while the Department of Homeland Security is defending the actions of its officers.
In the video, a Target employee is seen recording an officer as he walks into the store. The officer appears to ask whether the employee is a U.S. citizen.
The man, later identified as Jonathan Aguilar Garcia, does not answer and responds with profanity while backing into the store. Agents then tackle him to the ground and handcuff him, along with a second employee, Christian Miranda Romano.
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While Garcia is being forced into a van, he can be heard shouting.
“I’m literally a U.S. citizen,” he says repeatedly in the video.
The Department of Homeland Security said one of the individuals was arrested for assaulting a federal law enforcement officer. No charges have been filed.
Another video posted online appears to show Garcia being released hours later in the parking lot of a Walmart.
Garcia’s sister wrote on Facebook that he hit his head during the confrontation but is otherwise OK and safe.
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Romano also posted to social media, sharing a photo of himself holding a plastic bag containing his belongings. “I just got released. Thanks for the support,” he wrote.
Scripps News contacted Target, which is headquartered in Minnesota, seeking comment on the incident but did not receive a response.
Minnesota state Rep. Michael Howard, a Democrat, said the Target store is located in his district. He said the company should issue a public statement about the incident and refuse entry to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers without proper authorization.
