FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2026
CONTACT
Jesse Vad, media@laaclu.org
NEW ORLEANS, LA — The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, and the National Immigration Project filed claims against the federal government in March 2026 on behalf of Mario Garcia-Valenzuela and Luis Renteria-Gonzalez, who were abused at the hands of federal law enforcement in Louisiana. The filings are part of a coordinated nationwide effort by the ACLU and its affiliates involving 54 claims across 17 states and Washington D.C. Most affiliates filed their claims today but the ACLU of Louisiana filed theirs earlier this year.
Since the beginning of President Trump’s second term, federal law enforcement agents have terrorized communities and people in their custody with a blatant disregard for the law. The consequences have been deadly. Conditions in ICE facilities are so inhumane that the rate of deaths in ICE custody has more than doubled since Trump’s second term began, reaching its highest level in over a decade. In early July, reporting revealed that, after the White House pushed to increase arrest rates, ICE officials detained more than 10,000 people in five days. Only days later, ICE agents in unmarked vehicles shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas while he was on his way to work. The following week, a federal agent shot and killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine.
In Louisiana, the claims brought on behalf of clients represented by the ACLU of Louisiana, the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, and the National Immigration Project represent the ongoing abuse so many face at the hands of ICE agents. The claims also represent the particularly horrific treatment of trans people in ICE detention centers.
“This campaign represents the pervasive violations by federal agents that continue to flood our communities nationwide,” said Nora Ahmed, legal director for the ACLU of Louisiana. “It is clear this administration will never hold its law enforcement accountable, no matter how egregious the crimes they commit. That responsibility now falls on us. We will fight to vindicate people’s rights when they are stripped away.”
“When our clients reported their abuse through the facility’s own complaint process, they were told there was nothing to be done,” said Stephanie Alvarez-Jones, Southeast Regional Attorney at the National Immigration Project. “That cannot be the norm. We will not leave ICE to investigate itself. We will seek accountability.”
"Our clients were sexually assaulted, forced into late-night work programs, and physically abused. We won't let their stories fade away, and we won't let their cries for help go unanswered," said Sarah Decker, U.S. Senior Staff Attorney at the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center. "ICE has been faced with the fallout of their actions time and time again, and nothing has changed. Federal immigration officers have repeatedly turned a blind eye to human suffering - but thanks to the bravery of our clients, financial repercussions might catch their attention."
Across the country, ACLU affiliates are fighting back against the Trump administration’s illegal conduct by filing claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), one of the few legal tools available to seek financial compensation for wrongdoing by federal government employees. Through this coordinated effort, ACLU affiliates are representing dozens of people and families seeking justice for the harm they experienced at the hands of federal immigration agents.
“We weren’t detained; we were imprisoned and tortured,” said Mario Garcia-Valenzuela. “What we experienced was clearly not only punishment for being immigrants, but punishment for our identity. This despicable treatment can never be allowed to happen again.”
Each of the more than 50 claims that have been filed tells an individual story of someone brutalized by immigration enforcement. Together, they reveal a widespread pattern of civil rights violations and abuse carried out by officials nationwide, affecting immigrants, U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, families, workers, and people exercising their constitutional rights.
Earlier this month, the ACLU released a report analyzing immigration enforcement actions in the first year of President Trump’s second term. The report, Agents of Chaos and Cruelty, examines more than 1,200 immigration enforcement incidents across eight states and found that more than 400 of those incidents involved misconduct by immigration agents, including excessive force, racial profiling, intimidation and abuse.
In order to hold the administration accountable for its unlawful and inhumane actions, the ACLU and its affiliates will continue to work to defend the rights of all people, including those harmed by unlawful immigration enforcement actions.
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The National Immigration Project is a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members who believe that all people should be treated with dignity, live freely, and flourish. We litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those most impacted by the immigration and criminal systems are uplifted and supported. Learn more at nipnlg.org. Follow the National Immigration Project on Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook, and Threads at @NIPNLG.