Donald Trump‘s immigration crackdown is taking a toll not only on undocumented immigrants but on legal US citizens as well. ICE raids are being criticized as there have been multiple instances where legal US citizens have been arrested by masked agents and thrown away in detention centers without a reason. One such nightmare was lived by a disabled army veteran who is now sharing his story.
25-year-old George Retes was caught up in an immigration raid and was reportedly hit with tear gas and pepper spray before he was taken away to a detention center. The disabled army veteran, who is employed as a security guard at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, had arrived for work on July 10 when ICE agents surrounded his car. He told them that he is a legal US citizen but they broke his car’s window, pepper-sprayed him and dragged him out of his car, as per Irish Star.
The Army vet was arriving at work when federal agents surrounded his car, broke his window, pepper sprayed him, dragged him out and arrested him, he said. https://t.co/yxocSEkNNH
— Military Times (@MilitaryTimes) July 17, 2025
“It took two officers to nail my back and then one on my neck to arrest me even though my hands were already behind my back,” he recalls the unfortunate day.
Retes was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. He has claimed that the federal agents didn’t give him a reason for his arrest, nor did they allow him to contact an attorney or his family. The entire incident took a toll on him emotionally and he even missed his 3-year-old daughter’s birthday bash on Saturday (July 12).
ICE detained a disabled vet and won’t tell his family where he is.
This is who we are now?
— Maine (@TheMaineWonk) July 12, 2025
He wasn’t even allowed to take a shower or change his clothes as he was soaked in tear gas and pepper spray which even caused him a burning sensation on his hands.
On Sunday (July 13), after keeping him in custody for three days, he was let go. An official made him sign a document, and he was informed that he wasn’t facing any charges. He said that the officials remained silent when he asked them the reason for locking him up for three days without any reason and charges.
Retes said, “They gave me nothing I could wrap my head around.”
The veteran was detained during an ICE raid at two Southern California farms where the agents reportedly arrested 360 individuals. Retes said, “I want everyone to know what happened. This doesn’t just affect one person. It doesn’t matter if your skin is brown. It doesn’t matter if you’re white. It doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran or you serve this country. They don’t care. They’re just there to fill a quota.”
Recently, a similar case came to light as a woman battling with leukemia was detained by ICE. The woman named Arbella Rodríguez Márquez is reportedly a legal US citizen residing in the country for 25 years with no criminal record. She is locked up in a detention center for five months now, with no medical assistance. Her partner fears that she might not be able to make it out alive.
Last month, a father of three US marine brothers was punched and arrested by masked ICE agents. One of the brothers told the media that they feel betrayed by the country.
