Minneapolis Hospital Nurses Express Doubts Over ICE Explanation for Immigrant's Severe Injuries
Intensive care nurses at a prominent Minneapolis hospital have raised significant concerns about claims made by federal immigration officers regarding the severe injuries sustained by a Mexican immigrant in their care. According to court documents and medical staff familiar with the case, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents initially stated that Alberto Castañeda Mondragón had attempted to flee while handcuffed and "purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall."
Medical Staff Find ICE Account Medically Implausible
Staff members at Hennepin County Medical Center determined that this explanation could not possibly account for the extensive fractures and cerebral bleeding observed throughout the 31-year-old's brain. Three nurses familiar with the case described the ICE narrative as laughable if the situation were not so serious, with one stating anonymously that "there was no way this person ran headfirst into a wall."
The Associated Press interviewed a doctor and five nurses who work at HCMC, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Castañeda Mondragón's case. These medical professionals, along with an outside physician consulted by AP, affirmed that his injuries were inconsistent with an accidental fall or running into a wall.
Evolving Accounts and Hospital Confrontations
ICE's account of how Castañeda Mondragón was injured reportedly evolved during the time federal officers were at his bedside. Court filings and a hospital staff member indicate that at least one ICE officer told caregivers the immigrant "got his (expletive) rocked" after his January 8 arrest near a St. Paul shopping center. This arrest occurred just one day after the first of two fatal shootings in Minneapolis by immigration officers.
The situation reached a critical point when ICE insisted on using handcuffs to shackle his ankles to the hospital bed, prompting a heated encounter with medical staff. At the time, Castañeda Mondragón was reportedly so disoriented he did not know what year it was and could not recall how he was injured. ICE officers apparently believed he was attempting to escape when he got up and took a few steps.
"We were basically trying to explain to ICE that this is how someone with a traumatic brain injury is—they're impulsive," one nurse explained. "We didn't think he was making a run for the door."
Extensive Injuries Documented
Court records reveal that about four hours after his arrest, Castañeda Mondragón was taken to a hospital emergency room in suburban Edina with swelling and bruising around his right eye and bleeding. A CT scan revealed at least eight skull fractures and life-threatening hemorrhages in at least five areas of his brain, necessitating his transfer to HCMC.
Dr. Lindsey C. Thomas, a board-certified forensic pathologist who worked as a medical examiner in Minnesota for more than thirty years, reviewed the details of Castañeda Mondragón's injuries. She agreed with the assessment of hospital staff, stating, "I am pretty sure a person could not get these kinds of extensive injuries from running into a wall."
Dr. Thomas further noted that one doesn't need to be a physician to conclude that a person cannot sustain skull fractures on both the right and left sides of their head, from front to back, by running into a wall.
Growing Tensions Between ICE and Hospital Staff
The explanation from ICE represents a recent example of run-ins between immigration officers and healthcare workers that have contributed to mounting friction at Minneapolis hospitals. Workers at the Hennepin County facility report that ICE officers have restrained patients in defiance of hospital rules and remained at their sides for days. Agents have also been observed lingering around the campus and pressing people for proof of citizenship.
Since the start of Operation Metro Surge, President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in Minnesota, ICE officers have become such a fixture at the hospital that administrators issued new protocols for how employees should engage with them. Some employees complain that they have been intimidated to the point that they avoid crossing paths with agents while at work and use encrypted communications to guard against potential electronic eavesdropping.
The nurses interviewed by AP described feeling intimidated by ICE's presence in the critical care unit and reported being told to avoid certain bathrooms to minimize encounters with officers. Staff members are reportedly using an encrypted messaging app to compare notes and share information out of fear that the government might be monitoring their communications.
Legal Developments and Ongoing Concerns
More than two weeks after Castañeda Mondragón was arrested, a U.S. District Court judge ordered him released from ICE custody. Jeanette Boerner, director of Hennepin County Adult Representation Services, which filed the lawsuit on Castañeda Mondragón's behalf, stated, "We are encouraged by the court's order, which affirms that the rule of law applies to all people, in every corner of our country, including federal officers."
To the surprise of some who treated him, Castañeda Mondragón was discharged from the hospital shortly thereafter. The Justice Department filed court documents affirming he is no longer in custody, though prosecutors did not respond to requests for comment on the man's injuries.
According to his brother Gregorio Castañeda Mondragón, the immigrant has no family in Minnesota and coworkers have taken him in. He suffers from significant memory loss and faces a long recovery ahead, unable to work for the foreseeable future. Friends and family worry about paying for his ongoing care.
"He still doesn't remember things that happened. I think (he remembers) 20% of the 100% he had," said Gregorio Castañeda Mondragón, who lives in Mexico. "It's sad that instead of having good memories of the United States, you're left with a bad taste in your mouth about that country because they're treating them like animals."
The Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Castañeda Mondragón's injuries. A deportation officer skirted the issue in court documents, stating only that during the intake process at an ICE detention center, it was determined he "had a head injury that required emergency medical treatment."
