ICE claim that a man shattered his skull running into wall triggers
tension at a Minnesota hospital
[January 31, 2026]
By JACK BROOK, JIM MUSTIAN and MICHAEL BIESECKER
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Intensive care nurses immediately doubted the word of
federal immigration officers when they arrived at a Minneapolis hospital
with a Mexican immigrant who had broken bones in his face and skull.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents initially claimed Alberto
Castañeda Mondragón had tried to flee while handcuffed and “purposefully
ran headfirst into a brick wall,” according to court documents filed by
a lawyer seeking his release.
But staff members at Hennepin County Medical Center determined that
could not possibly account for the fractures and bleeding throughout the
31-year-old's brain, said three nurses familiar with the case.
“It was laughable, if there was something to laugh about,” said one of
the nurses, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss patient care.
“There was no way this person ran headfirst into a wall.”
The explanation from ICE is an example of recent run-ins between
immigration officers and health care workers that have contributed to
mounting friction at Minneapolis hospitals. Workers at the Hennepin
County facility say ICE officers have restrained patients in defiance of
hospital rules and stayed at their sides for days. The agents have also
lingered around the campus and pressed 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
any electronic eavesdropping.
Similar operations have been carried out by federal agents in Los
Angeles, Chicago and other cities, where opponents have criticized what
they say are overly aggressive tactics. It's not clear how many people
have required hospital care while in detention.
Injuries appeared inconsistent with ICE account
The AP interviewed a doctor and five nurses who work at HCMC, who spoke
on condition of anonymity to talk about Castañeda Mondragón’s case. AP
also consulted with an outside physician, and they all affirmed that his
injuries were inconsistent with an accidental fall or running into a
wall.
ICE’s account of how he was hurt evolved during the time that federal
officers were at his bedside. At least one ICE officer told caregivers
that Castañeda Mondragón "got his (expletive) rocked” after his Jan. 8
arrest near a St. Paul shopping center, the court filings and a hospital
staff member said. His arrest happened a day after the first of two
fatal shootings in Minneapolis by immigration officers.
The situation reached a head when ICE insisted on using handcuffs to
shackle his ankles to the bed, prompting a heated encounter with
hospital staff, according to the court records and the hospital
employees familiar with the incident.
At the time, Castañeda Mondragón was so disoriented he did not know what
year it was and could not recall how he was injured, one of the nurses
said. ICE officers believed he was attempting to escape after 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,” the nurse said.
“We didn't think he was making a run for the door.”
Security responded to the scene, followed by the hospital's CEO and
attorney, who huddled in a doctor's office to discuss options for
dealing with ICE, the nurse said.
“We eventually agreed with ICE that we would have a nursing assistant
sit with the patient to prevent him from leaving,” the nurse said. “They
agreed a little while later to take the shackles off.”
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 the court documents, saying
that during the intake process at an ICE detention center, it was
determined he “had a head injury that required emergency medical
treatment.”
Gregorio Castañeda Mondragón said his older brother is from Veracruz,
Mexico, and worked as a roofer. He has a 10-year-old daughter living in
his hometown he helps support.
According to his lawyers, Alberto Castañeda Mondragón entered the U.S.
in 2022 with valid immigration documents. Minnesota incorporation
filings show he founded a company called Castañeda Mondragón the
following year with an address listed in St. Paul.
He appears to have no criminal record. His lawyers told a court that
Castañeda Mondragón was racially profiled during the crackdown, and that
officers determined only after his arrest that he had overstayed his
visa.
“He was a brown-skinned, Latino Spanish speaker at a location
immigration agents arbitrarily decided to target,” his lawyers wrote in
a petition seeking his release from ICE custody.
Hours after arrest, immigrant has eight skull fractures
Castañeda Mondragón was initially taken to an ICE processing center at
the edge of Minneapolis. Court records include an arrest warrant signed
upon his arrival by an ICE officer, not an immigration judge.
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The Hennepin County Medical Center emergency department is seen
Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree
Nikhinson)
About four hours after his arrest, he 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, according to court documents. He was then transferred to
HCMC.
Castañeda Mondragón was alert and speaking, telling staff he was
“dragged and mistreated by federal agents,” though his condition
quickly deteriorated, the documents show.
The following week, a Jan. 16 court filing described his condition
as minimally responsive and communicative, disoriented and heavily
sedated.
AP shared the details of Castañeda Mondragón’s injuries with Dr.
Lindsey C. Thomas, a board-certified forensic pathologist who worked
as a medical examiner in Minnesota for more than 30 years. She
agreed with the assessment of hospital staff.
“I am pretty sure a person could not get these kinds of extensive
injuries from running into a wall,” Thomas said, adding that she
would need to see the CT scans to make a more definitive finding.
“I almost think one doesn’t have to be a physician to conclude that
a person can’t get skull fractures on both the right and left sides
of their head and from front to back by running themselves into a
wall," she said.
ICE officers stay with hospitalized detainees for days
ICE officers have entered the hospital with seriously injured
detainees and stayed at their bedside day after day, staffers said.
The crackdown has been unsettling to hospital employees, who said
ICE agents have been seen loitering on hospital grounds and asking
patients and employees for proof of citizenship.
Hospital staff members said they were uncomfortable with the
presence of armed agents they did not trust and who appeared to be
untrained.
The nurses interviewed by AP said they felt intimidated by ICE’s
presence in the critical care unit and had even been told to avoid a
certain bathroom to minimize encounters with officers. They said
staff members are using an encrypted messaging app to compare notes
and share information out of fear that the government might be
monitoring their communications.
The hospital reminded employees that ICE officers are not permitted
to access patients or protected information without a warrant or
court order.
“Patients under federal custody are first and foremost patients,”
hospital officials wrote in a bulletin outlining new protocols. The
hospital’s written policy also states that no shackles or other
restraints should be used unless medically necessary.
“We have our policies, but ICE personnel as federal officers don't
necessarily comply with those, and that introduces tension,” said a
doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to comment for the hospital.
Hospital spokeswoman Alisa Harris said ICE agents “have not entered
our facilities looking for individuals."
On Saturday, more than two weeks after Castañeda Mondragón was
arrested, a U.S. District Court judge ordered him released from ICE
custody.
“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,” said Jeanette Boerner, director of
Hennepin County Adult Representation Services, which filed the
lawsuit on Castañeda Mondragón’s behalf.
To the surprise of some who treated him, Castañeda Mondragón was
discharged from the hospital Tuesday. A hospital spokeswoman said
she had no information about him.
The Justice Department filed court documents this week affirming
Castañeda Mondragón is no longer in custody. Prosecutors did not
respond to a request for comment on the man's injuries.
Castañeda Mondragón has no family in Minnesota and coworkers have
taken him in, the man's brother said. He has significant memory loss
and a long recovery ahead. He won't be able to work for the
foreseeable future, and his friends and family worry about paying
for his 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.”
___
Mustian reported from New York, and Biesecker reported from
Washington.
___
Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski and Sarah Raza in
Minneapolis, Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, and Joshua Goodman
in Miami contributed.
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