Francisco Longoria was delivering a water-slide jumper for his party supply business on a Saturday morning in August when three unmarked vehicles blocked his truck on a suburban San Bernardino street. Four masked men in police gear emerged with guns drawn. They didn't identify themselves or produce a warrant, he said. When he didn't comply with an order to roll down his window, one agent smashed the glass and struck him in the face.
With agents on both sides of the truck and the road clear ahead, Longoria accelerated. As he drove away, gunfire erupted. An agent fired three rounds, leaving two bullet holes in the passenger's side. One shot narrowly missed the rear window where Longoria's son-in-law Daniel Rascon was seated.
The masked men were US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents. The entire encounter lasted less than a minute.
What followed was far worse than the initial violence. When Longoria arrived home and called police to report that armed men had shot at his truck, he became a suspect. Federal agents had already told local police that shots were fired, but a communication mix-up led authorities to believe Longoria had returned fire. He was arrested on the spot, despite having no criminal record and no one being injured.
Days later, at 4:19 a.m., federal officers in tactical gear and night-vision goggles arrived at his home with an arrest warrant. They broke through the metal and wooden doors, pointing assault rifles at his family while they slept. The laser sights of the guns tracked across his pregnant daughter-in-law. Longoria was charged with assault on federal officers with a dangerous weapon for driving away from the initial stop.
The felony charge fell apart almost immediately. During his bond hearing, the US attorney acknowledged he couldn't cite any lawful basis for the initial traffic stop and wasn't aware of injuries to any officers. Despite this, ICE held Longoria on a detainer for immigration violations. He was sent to Adelanto ICE detention facility, where he says he lost 20 pounds due to inadequate food and water.
After months in custody, prosecutors dropped the assault charge against Longoria entirely. By then, the damage was done. His family was traumatized. His reputation damaged. His business disrupted. Now Longoria and his family are suing the federal government and the officers involved, seeking damages for injuries, psychological trauma including PTSD, lost wages, property damage, wrongful incarceration, and reputational harm.
The lawsuit alleges the agents violated CBP's own use-of-force policy, which prohibits shooting at moving vehicles unless agents reasonably believe deadly force is being used against them. It also charges that officers violated a temporary restraining order issued by a California judge prohibiting agents from targeting people based on race, language, or type of work. Longoria suspects he was stopped because of racial profiling.
His case is not unique. Since Trump took office, ICE has opened fire on at least 30 people, according to Trace, which tracks such incidents. When agents use force, the Department of Homeland Security frequently accuses victims of weaponizing their vehicles. Many such charges are eventually dismissed. This month alone, ICE agents shot and killed two men in their vehicles in Texas and Maine.
The incident occurred during an aggressive wave of immigration enforcement across Southern California. From June to August last year, federal agents arrested more than 4,000 people, with immigrant advocates saying individuals were targeted based on skin color, accents, or occupation. San Bernardino, where Longoria lives, is a predominantly Latino city with a population of more than 200,000, about a quarter of whom were born outside the US.
Longoria, 24 years a Southern California resident originally from Mexico, had built a life in the community. He owns a home with his wife, runs a party rental business, and worked additional shifts to support his family. His home displays graduation photos, quinceañera pictures, and a crucifix by the front door. He is deeply involved in the local church.
When federal agents arrived at his home that pre-dawn morning, neighbors poured into the streets to defend him. The standoff lasted hours. Officers deployed pepper spray and arrested several community members. The heavy-handed response only deepened local resentment.
During the raid, Longoria was wearing only a muscle shirt and shorts. As officers prepared to take him away, his family frantically gathered his clothes. He left holding his shoes in his hands.
The family's attorney, Greg Jackson of the Simon Law Group, called the nighttime raid excessive. Jackson noted that DHS knew the family had legal representation and could have contacted their lawyers with the warrant, avoiding the trauma of a predawn assault on a home with no criminal history.
Longoria's lawyers are calling on California Attorney General Rob Bonta to open a criminal investigation into the officers involved. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit or Longoria's allegations before publication.
For Longoria, the experience remains a wound. He avoided leaving his home while detained on the ICE hold. His family remained on edge for weeks, believing they were under surveillance. When discussing what happened, he speaks deliberately about the terror of masked gunmen, the pain of baseless accusations, and the anguish of being torn from his family at gunpoint.
"What I have lived through, I don't wish that upon others," he said.
Author James Rodriguez: "This is what happens when immigration enforcement operates without accountability: innocent people get shot at, wrongly charged, and traumatized while the system shrugs."
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