Surveillance Video Shows 15 Men Jump Fence, Detain Texas Family Without Warrant
Donna, TX — Surveillance video shows a group of roughly 15 men jumping a backyard fence and entering a family’s property without presenting a warrant during an incident in Donna, Texas earlier this month.
The January 9 incident occurred near South Victoria Road and Stites Road in Hidalgo County. Video shared by KRGV Channel 5 News shows the men arriving in unmarked vehicles, climbing over a locked fence, and confronting residents in the yard.
Homeowner Humberto Garcia, 20, a U.S. citizen, told KRGV he was outside when the group arrived. Garcia said he demanded to see a warrant, but the men did not identify themselves and instead forced him to the ground, with one pointing a gun at him.
Garcia said his two younger sisters came outside during the confrontation, while the men entered the home and detained his parents, who are non-citizens but were in the process of obtaining U.S. citizenship. Garcia was briefly detained and then released.
According to Garcia, his mother is currently being held at a detention center in Raymondville, while he has received no information about his father’s whereabouts. Garcia said he is now caring for his four younger siblings.
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“You’re not even safe at your house anymore,” Garcia told Channel 5. “You can’t even be safe at your home.”
Local criminal defense attorney Christopher Cavazos, speaking generally and not involved in the case, told KRGV that entering private property without a warrant typically violates constitutional protections, unless law enforcement can demonstrate exigent circumstances such as an immediate threat to life or safety.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was contacted by KRGV on January 12. On January 15, the agency responded that it is “still working on the case,” but did not confirm whether the men in the video were federal agents or provide additional details.
As of the latest reporting, no charges, releases, or official findings related to the incident have been announced.
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