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NAPLES MANOR, Fla. \u2014<\/p>\n‘I’m an American citizen’: Florida man seeks justice after suffering collapsed lung from being punched by ICE<\/p>\n
NAPLES MANOR, Fla. \u2014<\/p>\n
A U.S. citizen is demanding justice after being hospitalized with a collapsed lung and fractured ribs following an encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a protest in Florida. <\/p>\n
Tensions escalated when someone threw a rock<\/p>\n
Isael Trejo told our sister station, Gulf Coast News<\/a>, the incident happened around 7 p.m. Wednesday while he was getting dinner at a food truck. <\/p>\n “There was a big crowd because ICE agents were there, and there were a lot of people. I think they had someone detained,” Trejo said. <\/p>\n Tensions escalated when someone threw a rock, prompting a reaction from ICE agents. Trejo described the agents as already armed and warning people to move away. <\/p>\n Felt scared and began running<\/p>\n “Before that, they were already bringing out weapons and pointing them. They were warning people to move away. The crowd backed up a little, and that\u2019s when I ran.\u201d He said he doesn’t know why. <\/p>\n ICE agents chased him. <\/p>\n “I felt like they were coming at people aggressively. That\u2019s when an ICE agent knocked me down. I told him, ‘I\u2019m an American citizen,’ but they didn\u2019t hear me. They couldn\u2019t understand me because I don\u2019t speak English,” Trejo said. <\/p>\n ‘ICE agent laughed at my pain’<\/p>\n Trejo said he was punched several times in the ribs, leaving him with strained ribs and a collapsed lung. He also sustained scratches on his body and said he was pepper-sprayed after being detained. <\/p>\n “I asked for a doctor because I was in pain. One of the ICE agents just laughed. I told him I was hurting,” Trejo said. <\/p>\n Released without charges <\/p>\n Trejo said he was released without charges. He went to the hospital where doctors diagnosed him with a collapsed lung requiring oxygen assistance. <\/p>\n “I\u2019m a U.S. citizen. My parents took me to Mexico when I was 5. I came back to Florida in 2023. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t speak English,” Trejo said. <\/p>\n Seeking justice<\/p>\n Trejo said he is seeking justice while continuing to recover from his injuries. <\/p>\n He displayed his U.S. passport, which lists the United States as his country of origin.<\/p>\n Trejo said ICE doesn’t have compassion. “I don\u2019t think what they\u2019re doing is right.”<\/p>\n ICE has not yet responded to requests for details on why Trejo was detained.<\/p>\n Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25<\/a><\/p>\n