The Trump administration pushed back on claims made by an immigrant detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who said he woke up in a hospital with serious injuries, including a brain bleed, after agents arrested him in the street. In a statement to Newsweek Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, branded some of the claims made by Jose Mejia Hernandez and his attorney as "FALSE," after reports that he had been knocked unconscious by ICE agents after fleeing them in Virginia.
The Trump administration's position reflects similar statements made by DHS when agents have been accused of overly aggressive or violent tactics. Newsweek reached out to Mejia Hernandez's attorney Tuesday for comment. The allegations surfaced this week after MeidasTouch News published an account from Mejia Hernandez's attorney, Carlos Jurado, who claims his client was hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury after a violent August 11 arrest in northern Virginia.
According to the attorney's account, Mejia Hernandez was walking to work when he was approached by men he did not initially recognize as immigration officers, fled, and was subsequently struck with what he believes was a Taser or stun device. He later awoke in a hospital with extensive facial injuries, according to the report. Jurado alleged Mejia Hernandez suffered a brain bleed and swelling, was guarded continuously by ICE agents during his hospitalization and was unable to have private conversations with medical providers.
The report further alleges that his family did not know where he was for several days after the arrest. Speaking to N+ Univision in Washington, D.C., Mejia Hernandez said he had lost his job as a result of the injuries. "It's not to take advantage of the situation, but I've lost my job.
Because of the problem I have in my head, I don't know until when I will start working again," he told the outlet in Spanish. "I have always worked since I arrived in this country; I have my daughters, my wife and I am a person who does not like problems. This situation is very hard." However, DHS strongly disputes key elements of his account, saying in a statement provided to Newsweek that Mejia Hernandez, whom officials described as a Mexican national unlawfully present in the United States, "attempted to flee from the scene" when officers attempted to arrest him.
"On August 11, 2026, ICE arrested Jose Mejia Hernandez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico. During the arrest, he attempted to flee from the scene requiring ICE to use necessary force to gain control of the situation," the statement said. DHS added that he was taken to a hospital "out of precaution" and later released from ICE custody under GPS monitoring pending immigration proceedings.
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