ICE Arrest Under Scrutiny After Mexican National Hospitalized With 8 Skull Fractures

Mexican citizen Alberto Castañeda Mondragón was beaten by immigration officers on January 8 outside a shopping center in St. Paul, Minnesota, and suffered eight skull fractures and five brain hemorrhages that required treatment in an intensive care unit.

​Federal authorities are investigating the incident to determine what caused the life-threatening injuries and whether misconduct occurred during the arrest.

​The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), along with the St. Paul Police Department, canvassed the scene and sought surveillance footage from the shopping center area.

​Mondragón, who was admitted to the Hennepin County Medical Center for a head injury, said his memory became so impaired that he could not remember he had a daughter and still struggles to recall special moments with her.

​He said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents pulled him from a friend’s car, threw him to the ground, handcuffed him, punched him and struck his head with a steel baton.

​He says he was dragged into a sport utility vehicle and taken to a detention facility, where he was reportedly beaten again. “They were very racist people,” the 31-year-old said. “No one insulted them, nor the other person they detained me with. It was their character, their racism toward us, for being immigrants.”​

ICE agents blamed Mondragón for his own injuries, saying he hit his head on concrete while attempting to escape during his arrest.

​The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement, “Alberto Castaneda-Mondragon, a 31-year-old illegal alien from Mexico who overstayed his visa. While in handcuffs, Castaneda attempted to escape custody and ran toward a main highway. While running, Castaneda fell and hit his head against a concrete wall. Once officers regained custody of Castaneda, they called for an ambulance to examine the illegal alien.”

The statement continued, “Castaneda declined medical services and stated he was uninjured. Officers notified the medical team at the processing facility about the incident, and Castaneda was then admitted to the Hennepin County Medical Center for his head injury.”

"Resisting officers and evading arrest is dangerous for our officers, illegal aliens, and the public — it is also a felony and a federal crime," the statement said.

Hospital staff who treated Mondragón disputed that account, telling The Associated Press (AP) that his injuries could not have been caused by a fall. Medical experts said such an incident would be unlikely to cause multiple brain hemorrhages or the fragmented memory Mondragón experienced.​

A computed tomography scan revealed fractures to the front, back, and both sides of his skull — injuries a doctor told the AP were inconsistent with a fall, raising further questions about the circumstances surrounding his arrest.

Local and federal investigators are attempting to recover surveillance footage from businesses near the arrest site, though much of the video may have been overwritten because more than a month has passed since the incident.

​Johnny Ratana, owner of Teepwo Market, an Asian grocery store overlooking the parking lot where the arrest occurred, said St. Paul Police Department officers visited the business twice in recent days.

​Ratana said investigators returned a second time with a data technician in an effort to retrieve footage that had been automatically overwritten after 30 days, according to a report on the AP. The FBI also expressed interest in the footage.

​Mondragón was summoned to meet with ICE on February 23 at its main detention facility in Minneapolis, raising the possibility that he could be taken back into custody and deported.

​This event is occurring amid wider scrutiny of immigration enforcement practices in Minnesota, including federal investigations into other incidents involving ICE agents.