The chaotic arrest of Martin Díaz, a 35-year-old man living in Spokane, Washington, is drawing national attention after Ring camera footage appeared to contradict federal agents’ claims that he assaulted them. The incident, part of a growing number of controversial ICE operations under President Trump’s renewed crackdown on immigration, has sparked serious questions about abuse of power, due process, and political retaliation.
In video from the front yard of Díaz’s home, plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers can be seen chasing him across the lawn. One sprays Díaz with pepper spray as he tries to flee through the garden gate. Moments later, they drag him back to the sidewalk and tackle him to the ground next to a potted plant. “I got you, fucker,” one agent says. The footage shows Díaz’s hands pinned and him subdued within seconds.
Another camera from the back patio captures Díaz’s roommate confronting the agents. The officers had not identified themselves nor presented a warrant. “You’re not allowed on the property,” the roommate says, to which one agent coldly replies, “No, he’s not,” after the roommate protests Díaz’s arrest, saying, “He’s a good guy!”
Though Díaz was initially detained for deportation proceedings in April, his legal situation escalated after an ICE agent claimed Díaz elbowed him in the face during the arrest — a charge that carries up to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Díaz is now being held in a county jail and faces trial.
But Díaz’s wife, Kendall, says the Ring video proves no assault occurred. She believes the new charge is retaliation. “Of course I believe he didn’t do that,” she said. “It’s punishment. It’s revenge.”
Three days before the criminal charge was filed, Kendall had posted a photo of one of the arresting agents on Facebook.
The case is one of many under the Trump administration’s intensified immigration crackdown where ICE operations have turned violent or controversial. Viral videos across the country have shown officers smashing car windows, using force on subdued individuals, and deploying tear gas near children.
Yet the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims its agents are increasingly under attack. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin recently stated that assaults on ICE officers have risen 500% in 2025, though DHS has refused to release raw numbers, definitions, or confirm whether those figures reflect allegations or actual charges.
Rolling Stone reviewed ICE detention data and found 35 pending assault charges since October 2024, but it remains unclear how many involved ICE agents. Legal experts say DHS is expanding its definition of “assault” — in some cases, any physical resistance or accidental contact can result in a felony charge.
Even elected officials have found themselves in ICE’s crosshairs. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) were both arrested during altercations with agents. McIver, indicted on three counts of assault, called the charges “a brazen attempt at political intimidation.”
Many arrests lack corroborating evidence beyond officer testimony. In California, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen, Adrian Martinez, was tackled by ICE agents after attempting to defend a janitor from deportation. Officers claimed he punched them. Walmart security footage later revealed no such punches occurred — just officers throwing him to the ground three times. He now faces a felony conspiracy charge.
At a protest in Paramount, California, U.S. citizen José Manuel Mojica was charged with assaulting an ICE officer. He says he was trying to defuse a confrontation and ended up unconscious after being slammed to the pavement. Mojica has bruises and video to back his story. “They said, ‘Don’t act like you’re not used to this,’” Mojica recalled. “But I’ve never been arrested before in my life.”
Advocates and defense attorneys warn that federal charges carry harsher penalties than state ones — and ICE’s new tactics, including arrests in plainclothes, unmarked cars, and without warrants, only add to the confusion and fear.
Kendall Díaz recounted an earlier unsettling visit from agents, who hit her car in the driveway pretending to be civilians. When she asked why one man was peering through her window, an officer responded that he was “off his meds.” Only later did they admit they were CBP agents surveilling her home.
The ambiguity surrounding who is truly an agent has grown more dangerous. ICE impersonators have been arrested in at least six states — some for sexually assaulting immigrant women. State Senator Scott Wiener warned, “If we want the public to trust law enforcement, we cannot allow them to behave like secret police in an authoritarian state.”
ICE’s ramped-up tactics — arresting more than twice the usual number of people since January, fewer than 10% of whom have serious criminal convictions — are rooted in a strict 3,000-arrest-per-day quota set by the Trump administration. Critics say this encourages targeting easily found individuals — often in public places — instead of those who pose actual threats.
In Los Angeles on June 24, a citizen filming an ICE arrest was threatened with a taser to her head. She wasn’t resisting, only exercising her legal right to record.
Former ICE Chief of Staff Jason Houser, who served under Biden, said the agency is now driven more by optics than safety. “They’re double-scanning bananas at checkout,” he said, referring to inflated or misleading statistics.
ICE data shows that since October 2024, over 44,000 detainees have had “pending” criminal charges — many of which may never be filed. Advocates warn that ICE uses these threats to coerce immigrants into signing voluntary deportation papers, bypassing court proceedings.
Amanda Schuft, an attorney with the Immigrant Defenders Law Center in Los Angeles, said that access to detainees has become harder in recent weeks. “They don’t even know their rights. Some don’t realize they don’t have to sign deportation orders.”
Meanwhile, Kendall Díaz waits for her husband’s trial. She believes the footage will clear his name — but even if acquitted, ICE may immediately re-arrest him and deport him to Mexico, a country he left as a toddler and where neither he nor Kendall speaks the language.
“It’s painful,” Kendall said. “To watch this all happen in your own yard, your own house — and know you can’t stop it.”
