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One of the nation’s largest civil rights organizations says it has filed 54 federal tort claims, including 30 in the past week, each detailing allegations of property damage, excessive force and constitutional violations during immigration enforcement operations and National Guard deployments.
In announcing the claims, the American Civil Liberties Union said policies of President Donald Trump’s administration are causing violent and lawless practices by federal agents.
“The claims are very individualized, very unique for each particular client, but what they do have in common is they all tell a story about what happens when this administration puts enforcement above — at any cost — the respect of our constitutional rights,” Carmen Iguina González, the ACLU’s deputy director for immigration detention, told Straight Arrow.
González said the filings are a required first step before suing federal agencies for personal injury or property damage claims. If agencies deny a claim, federal law allows a claimant to sue the government for damages.
In a statement, the ACLU asserted that during Trump’s second term, “federal law enforcement agents have terrorized communities and people in their custody with a blatant disregard for the law.” Among the incidents the organization cited were the shooting deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine, both of whom were killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
A DHS spokesperson told Straight Arrow in an email that the pattern of concern is “violent agitators attacking our law enforcement officers.” It reiterated a claim that officers have experienced a sharp increase in assaults, which has been refuted. It questioned when the ACLU will acknowledge the harm done to officers and victims of crimes allegedly committed by unauthorized immigrants.
“ICE law enforcement officers are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations to prioritize the safety of the public and our officers,” the spokesperson wrote. “Officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training.”
Claims reflect ‘coordinated response’
The ACLU didn’t provide Straight Arrow with a full list of the 54 tort claims. The organization referred to a press release that lists the 17 states and the District of Columbia where the claims were filed.
Straight Arrow was able to identify 33 claims filed across nine states and D.C. through a review of websites of ACLU affiliates. Some claims were filed against a specific agency, while others didn’t appear to have the corresponding information.
González said the ACLU has made attempts at filing claims against DHS, believing that the masked federal agents are from the agency. None of the claims have proceeded out of the administrative process.
“This is the first time that we have seen this kind of coordinated response,” she said.
Army veteran, workers alleged assault
While nearly all claims were filed against DHS or its affiliated agencies, one involving Anna King, of Washington, D.C., is against the National Guard.
Guardsmen arrested King on May 8 at her D.C. doorstep for allegedly assaulting other Guardsmen days prior. King, who had been protesting the Guard’s presence in the city, had not been charged with the crime.
Her claim centered on how she was arrested, asserting that members entered her property and “violently restrained her,” according to a release from the ACLU of D.C.
“The Guard members pinned her to the ground, kneeled on her back, and handcuffed her tightly, refusing to loosen the handcuffs after she complained,” the release stated. “King suffered significant injuries from the incident, particularly in her wrist, which required surgery.”
In Washington state, a family of six filed claims against Customs and Border Protection for the “extreme harm” the agency inflicted when it kept the family detained with just access to a toilet. The mother, who was pregnant, received medical care only after losing consciousness due to the high temperatures in the cell, according to the ACLU of Washington.
A claim filed in Illinois involved cemetery workers Darren Eichler and Daniel Greer, who on Oct. 7, 2025 spotted a man in a river and attempted to get his attention to check his health, according to the ACLU of Illinois. Federal agents shooed them off, and the two told the officers to leave the area and “stop harassing people.”
About seven agents approached the gated section where Eichler and Greer were working and used bolt clippers to enter after the workers refused to let them in. The workers were pepper sprayed and Eichler was transported to a local hospital with injuries relating to the spraying, according to the claim.
Agents took Greer to a DHS facility without reading his constitutional rights or giving him a reason for his detention, the claim alleges, and he was given no medical assistance for the spraying. The workers were released without charges.
González said that despite leadership changes in DHS, officers’ conduct hasn’t changed. After the two July shootings, ICE temporarily suspended most vehicle stops nationwide, but it is not clear how long the suspension lasted.
“So the answer is no,” González said. “These abuses continue, and our community members are suffering.”
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