ICE Raids Wrong Home: Leaves Oklahoma Family Shaken and Angry

Jan 16, 2013
4:33 PM

The following story from Oklahoma is the latest example of an immigration system that is broken. According to the following video reports, a family from Moore, Oklahoma was mistakenly raided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office (ICE) agents.

Carlos Estrada Barrintos and his family have every right to be upset and visibly shaken. The part that got to us? This one from the original news story:

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With guns drawn in the home he’s lived in for over 10 years, Estrada says agents realized after about five minutes they had the wrong guy. But he says he was kept in handcuffs for another 40 minutes to be fingerprinted. He says he was even asked for his green card.

“I saw my kids and my wife,” said an emotional Estrada.

Carlos says he’s done nothing but try to do what’s right and obey the law. He’s been a legal U.S. citizen since 1988.

“I get my insurance and everything, because I know, I need to respect the laws,” says Estrada wiping tears from his face. “I tell my kids every time, you got to do this, you got to do that, we need to be good citizens.”

He was told he had been under surveillance by ICE agents for three years and was showed a picture of himself at his job in 2010.

“My understanding is, the subject they were actually looking for was arrested in 2000, 2008,” said Estrada’s nephew, Eric Martinez. “They would have a little more recent photos compared to what Carlos looks like. They look nothing alike.”

“We just don’t want that to happen again, mistakes like that,” said Estrada.

What is even more classic is the statement ICE gave the news station that broke the story:

On Jan. 8 at about 6 a.m., officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and District 21 Task Force in Oklahoma executed a search warrant issued by a District Court judge at a Moore, Okla., residence.

Shortly after entering the residence, ICE officers interviewed the alleged target and noted a discrepancy between the residence owner’s social security number and that of the target of the investigation.

Officers conducted an on-site electronic fingerprint comparison which confirmed that the residence owner was not the target of the investigation, even though they both have the same name.

Officers apologized and departed the residence. ICE immediately began investigating this incident, which is ongoing. The investigation into the original target is also ongoing.