PORTLAND, Ore. — A 25-year-old Oregon woman says she was violently detained by federal immigration agents after filming them in a Chick-fil-A parking lot near Gresham late last month.
Berenice Garcia-Hernandez, a U.S. citizen, claims Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents broke her car windows, dragged her out of the vehicle, and detained her for about seven hours before releasing her without charges. Two weeks later, she says ICE still has her cell phone and engagement ring.
Her case — first reported by The Oregonian — raises renewed questions about alleged retaliation by federal immigration officers against civilians exercising their constitutional right to record law enforcement.
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The Encounter
Garcia-Hernandez said she learned through a Facebook post about ICE activity near a Chick-fil-A in Gresham. Concerned about potential immigration raids, she drove to the restaurant in her fiancé’s car, which has government-issued plates, to take photos and document the agents.
In recent years, social media networks have become tools for activists to monitor ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operations, especially amid the Trump administration’s deportation campaigns. Recording and observing law enforcement is protected under the First Amendment, as long as it doesn’t interfere with official duties.
According to Garcia-Hernandez, she took a few photos and left the parking lot. Moments later, the ICE agents began following her vehicle.
ICE Response and Conflicting Claims
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not immediately comment on why Garcia-Hernandez was detained. However, Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, told The Oregonian that Garcia-Hernandez had “aggressively followed and obstructed” ICE officers, accusing her of reckless driving and resisting arrest.
“Her reckless and dangerous behavior included driving over a curb and coordinating with another unlicensed vehicle to block and intimidate law enforcement officers,” McLaughlin said.
Garcia-Hernandez’s attorney, Michael Fuller, disputes that account and says video evidence tells a different story. “That’s a lie,” Fuller said. “We have the footage that proves she did nothing wrong.”
Video Evidence
Fuller shared additional cell phone footage taken by Garcia-Hernandez with Reason, a media outlet that reviewed the incident. The video shows ICE officers tailing her car for about two minutes as she drives through traffic. When she stops at a red light, one of the agents pulls up beside her.
“Police department,” an officer can be heard saying. “Why are you taking photos?”
“You’re not police,” Garcia-Hernandez replies. “I know who you are.”
The officer responds, “You know you’re in a government vehicle? You just got fired.”
As the light changes, Garcia-Hernandez says, “Keep going,” and drives away. The video ends there.
She told The Oregonian that when she reached another red light, the ICE agents activated their emergency lights and blocked her vehicle.
The Arrest
Bystander video of the arrest shows ICE officers surrounding Garcia-Hernandez’s car and smashing out the windows. One of the agents can be seen dragging her out of the driver’s seat while another ICE vehicle is positioned perpendicular in front of her car, preventing her from moving.
Garcia-Hernandez was then transported to a South Portland ICE detention facility, where she was held for roughly seven hours before being released. She says agents confiscated her cell phone and engagement ring during the arrest — items that have still not been returned.
Legal Action and Demands
On October 31, Fuller sent a formal letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, demanding that the agency return Garcia-Hernandez’s belongings and preserve all evidence related to her case. The letter, a standard precursor to a lawsuit, has so far gone unanswered.
“She hasn’t been charged with any crime,” Fuller said. “They broke her windows, detained her, took her property, and lied about what happened.”
He added that this case fits a broader pattern of what he describes as “false and misleading” statements from DHS following controversial ICE operations.
“The willingness to lie is unusual because they know these cases end up in court,” Fuller said. “It’s easy to lie now, but when the evidence is reviewed under oath, the truth comes out. We’ve seen them lie about almost all of our clients.”
Fuller’s firm is also representing Francisco Miranda, another U.S. citizen allegedly arrested by ICE agents in Portland earlier in October.
Pattern of False Statements
Civil rights attorneys and immigrant advocacy groups have long accused ICE and DHS of issuing misleading or false public statements after high-profile arrests or incidents involving force. Such statements, they argue, distort the record, harm innocent people, and discourage others from exercising their rights.
“These false narratives damage the public’s ability to trust law enforcement,” Fuller said. “They’re attacking reputations and chilling free speech.”
He believes Garcia-Hernandez’s case — like others — will likely end up in civil court. Although such lawsuits can take years to resolve, Fuller says the legal process offers a level of transparency absent from government press releases.
“It’s much harder to twist facts in front of a judge than in a press statement,” he said. “We’ll see how they handle having gone on record with provable lies.”
Standing Her Ground
Despite the trauma, Garcia-Hernandez says she refuses to stay silent. Her experience, she says, has only strengthened her resolve to speak out against what she sees as intimidation and abuse of power.
“I think we should continue to use our voices and warn others about what’s happening,” she told The Oregonian. “It’s not OK how our community is being treated. And me, as a U.S. citizen, I was treated this way just for taking pictures and videos to warn others. They were angry because they were being exposed.”
Her case is now one of several being tracked by civil rights attorneys across Oregon who argue that federal immigration enforcement in the state has increasingly targeted both immigrants and citizens alike — often without clear legal justification.
A Growing National Debate
The incident adds to a growing national conversation about the limits of ICE’s authority and the rights of individuals to record government agents in public spaces.
Legal experts point out that the First Amendment protects citizens’ right to observe and document law enforcement activities, as long as they do not obstruct officers. Courts across the U.S. have repeatedly upheld this right, even in tense or confrontational situations.
For Garcia-Hernandez, that principle — and her experience — have become deeply personal. “If they can do this to me,” she said, “what’s to stop them from doing it to anyone else?”
