'There Was Never a Wall': Man Beaten Nearly to Death by ICE Refutes Self-Harm Claim

A Mexican man beaten within an inch of his life last month by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is on the mend and on Saturday spoke out to refute what one nurse called the agency's "laughable" claim that his injuries—which include a skull shattered in eight places and five brain hemorrhages—were self-inflicted.

Alberto Castañeda Mondragón told the Associated Press that ICE agents pulled him from a friend's car outside a shopping center in St. Paul, Minnesota—where the Trump administration's ongoing Operation Metro Surge has left two people dead and thousands arrested—on January 8.

The 31-year-old father was thrown to the ground, handcuffed, and then savagely assaulted with fists and a steel baton.

"They started beating me right away when they arrested me,” he said.

Castañeda Mondragón was then dragged into an SUV and taken to a holding facility at Ft. Snelling in suburban Minneapolis where he says he was beaten again. He said he pleaded with his attackers to stop, but they just "laughed at me and hit me again."

“They were very racist people,” he said. “No one insulted them, neither me nor the other person they detained me with. It was their character, their racism toward us, for being immigrants.”

Castañeda Mondragón was taken to the emergency room at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) suffering from eight skull fractures, five life-threatening brain hemorrhages, and multiple broken facial bones.

ICE agents told HCMC nurses that Castañeda Mondragón “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall," a claim his caretakers immediately doubted. A CT scan revealed fractures to the front, back, and both sides of his skull—injuries inconsistent with running into a wall.

“It was laughable, if there was something to laugh about,” one of the nurses told the AP last month on the condition of anonymity. “There was no way this person ran headfirst into a wall.”

"There was never a wall," Castañeda Mondragón insisted.

Castañeda Mondragón was hospitalized for nearly three weeks. During the first week, he was minimally responsive, disoriented, and heavily sedated. His memory was damaged by the beating—he said he could not initially remember that he had a daughter—and he could not bathe himself after he was discharged from the hospital.

In addition to facing a long road to recovery, Castañeda Mondragón, who has been employed as a driver and a roofer, has been relying upon support from co-workers and his community for food, housing, and healthcare, as he is unable to work and has no health insurance. A GoFundMe page has been launched to solicit donations "for covering medical care and living expenses until he can begin working again."

"I don't know why ICE did this to me," Castañeda Mondragón said in translated remarks on the page. "They did not detain me after the hospital, I am not a criminal, and the doctors say they were untruthful about how the injuries occurred. But I prefer not to fight, I only want to recover, pay my bills, and go back to work."

On January 23, US District Judge Donovan W. Frank ruled that ICE was unlawfully detaining Castañeda Mondragón and ordered his immediate release.

Frank's ruling noted that "ICE agents have largely refused to provide information about the cause of [Castañeda Mondragón's] condition to hospital staff and counsel for [him], stating only that 'he got his shit rocked' and that he ran headfirst into a brick wall."

The ruling also stated that "despite requests by hospital staff, ICE agents have refused to leave the hospital, asserting that [Castañeda Mondragón] is under ICE custody."

"Two agents have been present at the hospital at all times since January 8, 2026," the document continues. "ICE agents used handcuffs to shackle [Castañeda Mondragón's] legs, despite requests from HCMC staff that he not be so restrained. Petitioner is now confined by hospital-issued four-point restraints in an apparent compromise between the providers and agents."

"Prior to this case, ICE had not provided any explanation for [Castañeda Mondragón's] arrest or continued detention," Frank added.

Castañeda Mondragón legally entered the United States in 2022 but reportedly overstayed his visa.

Castañeda Mondragón’s arrest came a day after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old legal observer Renee Good in Minneapolis. Seventeen days later, Customs and Border Protection officers fatally shot nurse Alex Pretti, who was also 37, in South Minneapolis after disarming him of a legally carried handgun.

The Department of Homeland Security has not announced any investigation into the attack on Castañeda Mondragón, sparking criticism from civil rights advocates and some Democratic elected officials.

Castañeda Mondragón told the AP that he considers himself lucky.

“It’s immense luck to have survived, to be able to be in this country again, to be able to heal, and to try to move forward,” he said. “For me, it’s the best luck in the world.”

But he suffers nightmares that ICE is coming for him.

“You’re left with the nightmare of going to work and being stopped,” Castañeda Mondragón said, “or that you’re buying your food somewhere, your lunch, and they show up and stop you again. They hit you.”