DHS says claims that a man suffered broken bones during an ICE operation in Santa Maria, California, are false, and that he "never requested medical assistance."
The statement comes in a post from the DHS account addressed to @SenAdamSchiff. The post does not say who made the broken-bones claims or where they appeared.
Claims that the individual suffered broken bones are FALSE.
DHS's account of October 21 runs like this. ICE was conducting a targeted enforcement operation in Santa Maria when officers encountered a man they believed matched the description of the target. DHS calls the target a "criminal illegal alien."
DHS says the man resisted officers, refused lawful commands and assumed a fighting stance with clenched fists. Officers then "relied on their training to safely control the situation" until they could confirm his identity. After that, DHS says, he was released.
Developing, unverified: the post is DHS's own version. It includes no medical records, video or independent account. The claims that he was not injured, never asked for help and resisted all come from DHS alone.
The agency then widens the frame. It says ICE officers are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary, are "highly trained in de-escalation tactics" and receive ongoing use-of-force training.
DHS also cites the law. It says ICE has authority for lawful arrests under 8 USC 1357. Officers use "reasonable suspicion" to investigate immigration status, it says, and probable cause to make arrests, consistent with the statute and the Fourth Amendment. DHS adds that the Supreme Court "has already vindicated us on these practices." The post names no case.
DHS says its operations are highly targeted and that "we know who we are targeting ahead of time." That sits awkwardly beside its own description of officers stopping a man because he matched a description, then releasing him once they confirmed who he was. When officers do encounter people subject to arrest, DHS says, they ask "a series of well-determined questions" to determine status and removability.
The post closes with numbers. DHS says officers face "more than a 1,600% increase in assaults," a 3,300% increase in vehicle attacks and an 8,000% increase in death threats. It gives no baseline, time period or underlying data. It then says that under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.
The plain part: an agency that grades its own use of force is not a neutral witness. You can read the post and weigh it that way.
The post leaves one thing unanswered. It says he never asked for medical help, but it does not say whether anyone offered.