A man is suing the federal government after immigration enforcement agents allegedly seriously injured him during an arrest in January in St. Paul.

The lawsuit alleges that agents used excessive force in the arrest of Orbin Henriquez Serrano, a 28-year-old man from Honduras. The incident left him in need of knee surgery. It also alleges agents engaged in racial profiling in stopping him in the first place, and arrested him without a warrant.

Henriquez Serrano had stopped at a Speedway gas station on Snelling Avenue before work, just days after federal agents had killed Renee Good. Nearly 20 agents, led by then-Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino, stopped him and asked about his immigration status.

The lawsuit alleges that agents did not have a warrant, but “profiled Mr. Henriquez Serrano based solely on his Hispanic appearance.”

A state court record search shows no charges for any crimes for Henriquez Serrano.

Henriquez Serrano told agents he would not talk to them without a lawyer and got back into his car, according to the lawsuit. Agents surrounded his car, and without warning, one broke the driver’s side window with a hammer.

Several bystanders took video of the incident, which was shared widely on social media. The lawsuit notes that some agents pushed observers, and alleges that Bovino “failed to maintain proper supervision” and instead “snarled at protesters.”

Agents then pulled Henriquez Serrano out of the passenger door of his car and forced him to the ground. He was unconscious by the time agents dragged him to their vehicle.

“The agents either failed to notice that Ms. Henriquez Serrano was no longer conscious or they didn’t care,” the lawsuit says. “Instead, they kept yelling at his defenseless and motionless body.”

Agents drove Henriquez Serrano to the federal Whipple building. The lawsuit alleges that this broke rules governing arrests, which require agents to give aid if someone is unconscious before moving them.

Shortly after the arrest, Henriquez Serrano was shackled and taken to Camp East Montana in Texas. After a week there, he was shackled again and put on a plane to Honduras, where he’s remained since.

While there, the lawsuit says, he’s been dealing with anxiety and trouble sleeping. He also sustained a knee injury during the arrest. According to the lawsuit, agents reinjured his ACL, which he had surgery on in 2022. He’ll need surgery again to repair the damage.

In April, Henriquez Serrano filed complaints with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection; no agency made a decision on those complaints. He was required to wait six months after filing those complaints to file a lawsuit.

The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to a request for comment.

The lawsuit asks for over $1 million to be paid to Henriquez Serrano.

Collected from Minnesota Public Radio News. View original source here.