Francisco Longoria, who runs a party supply business, was driving his truck down a suburban southern California street on 16 August to deliver a jumper for a water slide when three unmarked vehicles stopped his truck and four masked men jumped out. Longoria, his son Jonathan, and son-in-law Daniel Rascon were inside. Longoria wondered if they were being abducted. 'I see what happens in Mexico,' he said in Spanish. 'I thought, are we going to be kidnapped by these masked men?'
Encounter with masked agents
The masked men were agents with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Customs and Border Protection. They wore police gear but did not identify themselves. As the agents approached with guns drawn, the passengers recorded video. One agent knocked on the window and told Longoria to roll it down without a warrant. When Longoria did not comply, the agent smashed the glass and struck his face. Another agent broke the front passenger window. With agents on both sides and the road clear, Longoria drove away. An agent fired three rounds, leaving two bullet holes in the truck. One bullet missed the back window. Rascon felt terrified, thinking 'One of us is about to get killed.' Longoria said: 'I was afraid for my life. I felt like death was imminent.'
The encounter lasted less than a minute. Back home, they called police to report masked men shooting at them. Instead of help, Longoria faced a federal investigation culminating in a night-time ambush, a felony charge of assault against officers, and months in ICE detention. The charge was later dropped.
Aftermath and lawsuit
Longoria is speaking out as his family seeks justice. They filed a lawsuit against the federal government and officers involved, seeking damages for physical injury, psychological injuries including PTSD, lost wages, property damages, wrongful incarceration, public humiliation, and reputational harm. The lawsuit alleges the officers 'attempted to kill' them by firing shots in violation of CBP's use of force policy, which prohibits shooting at a moving vehicle merely fleeing. It also alleges violation of a California judge's temporary restraining order against targeting people based on race, language, or work.
Longoria suspects racial profiling. His family remains traumatized. The incident occurred during Trump administration immigration raids in Southern California, where federal agents arrested over 4,000 people from June to August last year. Immigrant advocates say people were targeted based on skin color, accents, or jobs. Federal officers have used excessive force, resulting in injuries and deaths.
Previous shootings and pattern
Since Trump took office, ICE has fired on at least 30 people, according to Trace, a US outlet. After such shootings, the Department of Homeland Security often accuses victims of weaponizing vehicles, with charges later dismissed. This month, ICE agents shot and killed two men in Texas and Maine, leading to a brief pause of most vehicle stops, quickly reversed by Trump.
Longoria's lawyers call on California Attorney General Rob Bonta to open a criminal investigation. Greg Jackson, partner at Simon Law Group, called the stop illegal: 'It's one of those stops where they saw brown people in a truck and decided to exercise their perceived authority over them.' DHS did not respond to requests for comment.
Arrest and detention
Longoria, a Mexican-born green thumb, has lived in Southern California for 24 years. After the shooting, he called 911. San Bernardino police arrived but were told by federal officers that Longoria had returned fire, though no officers were hit. Local police arrested him, but released him after seeing videos. Then ICE and Homeland Security Investigations agents tried to arrest him without a warrant. Neighbors defended the family, leading to a standoff lasting hours; police deployed pepper spray and arrested some. The officers left.
On 28 August at 4.19am, security cameras showed federal officers in helmets, vests, and night-vision goggles arriving while the family slept. They broke the locks and pointed assault rifles, lasers hitting bodies. Longoria was told: 'If you move, we will shoot you.' The lasers touched Joana Longoria, who was five months pregnant. Rascon said: 'Don't shoot, she's pregnant!' The family demanded a warrant. The officers produced one alleging Longoria had run over officers. Longoria left with his shoes in his hands.
Bond and detention
At a bond hearing, the US attorney acknowledged no lawful basis for the stop and no injuries to officers. The judge called the videos 'quite scary' and granted bond, but an ICE detainer kept him. He was taken to Adelanto ICE facility, where he lost 20lbs and met others injured by federal agents who did not receive medical attention. Two people died there: Gabriel Garcia-Aviles, 56, and Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39.
The government dropped charges on 17 September, but Longoria was held three months total, returning home in early December. In February, Rascon testified before Congress about DHS abuses. The lawsuit alleges cover-up: officers made false statements leading to charges, part of a pattern where ICE/CBP shoot innocent people and manufacture charges later dismissed.
Longoria, not wishing bad on officers, only asks they follow the law. He is still facing removal proceedings, wears an ankle monitor, and cannot work. He cares for his granddaughter. His attorneys fight to keep him in the US. 'I want to stay in the country with my family, but I'm not the one to decide that. Only God can decide what happens to my future,' he said.
