Portland man sues ICE after being detained for hours

fox23maine.com · By Julia Simone, WGME · 2026-04-15T00:51:40.000Z

PORTLAND (WGME) -- A Portland man is suing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.He says he was here legally on a work visa when ICE stopped him on his way to work in January, smashed his car window, and held him for an entire day.The lawsuit was filed at the federal district court in Portland Tuesday morning. The plaintiff is suing five federal agents.Also read: 'Operation Catch of the Day': ICE launches major enforcement effort in MaineJuan Sebastián Carvajal-Muñoz says this happened on the morning of January 22, the second day of “Operation Catch of the Day” in Maine.Carvajal-Muñoz says he was on his way to work in Portland, where he works as a civil engineer, when ICE agents in a vehicle cut him off and demanded identification.He gave his Real ID before he started recording them with his phone.That's when he says an ICE agent smashed his car window with a crowbar and dragged him out of his car."Sebastián was terrified by what happened, as you could expect. He never thought he would suddenly be violently abducted off the street," ACLU of Maine Legal Director Carol Garvan said.A Portland man is suing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (U.S. District Court)Carvajal-Muñoz was driven from Portland, to Gray, then to Biddeford by the agents.He claims once he was in Biddeford ICE agents told him they were taking him home and asked where he wanted to be dropped off.But after that he says the agents just drove him around Portland, mocking him, then back to Biddeford and onto a bus to Massachusetts.Carvajal-Muñoz says he was forced to go to the bathroom in a public parking lot and wasn't given any food until he was taken to the facility.Also read: Report: Most people arrested by ICE in Maine operation had not been convicted of crimes"He has lawful status and was simply racially profiled and taken by these agents," ACLU of Maine Legal Director Carol Garvan said.He was brought to Burlington, Massachusetts where, after a few hours, Carvajal-Muñoz was released more than 100 miles from home.Now he's suing ICE for wrongful detention and civil rights violations.“We are really hopeful that this will be a way to establish or re-establish new avenues for people to hold federal agents accountable,” ACLU of Maine Legal Director Carol Garvan said.CBS13 reached out to ICE but didn't hear back.The ACLU says the government is expected to respond to the lawsuit within a few weeks.