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Sorayda N. and Claudia: U.S. citizen siblings filming ICE raid tackled and detained in Texas

Three siblings, ages 31, 19 and about 14, were tackled and detained while filming an ICE arrest near their mother's Texas home; the family is seeking $2.5 million in damages.

Oct 9, 2026Brownsville, TX

Sorayda N. and Claudia: U.S. citizen siblings filming ICE raid tackled and detained in Texas
Photo via MALDEF

Sorayda Noyola, 31, her sister Claudia, 19, and a younger sibling, around 14, were detained by ICE and Homeland Security Investigations agents near their mother's home in the Rio Grande Valley area of Texas after stopping to film federal agents conducting an immigration arrest at a construction site. When Sorayda objected to an agent trying to seize her phone, agents tackled all three siblings to the ground and handcuffed them; the youngest sibling said an officer knelt behind his knee, causing sharp pain, and he was separated from his mother, a green card holder, who feared she would also be detained. Sorayda and Claudia were held for hours at the ICE Field Office in Harlingen, and agents confiscated phones from the siblings without returning them. MALDEF filed a Federal Tort Claims Act administrative claim on the siblings' behalf seeking $2.5 million in damages for personal injury and $2,000 for each lost phone, alleging unlawful assault, arrest, and detention. DHS stated it respects the First Amendment right to observe and film but will intervene if filming interferes with operations. The case is among more than 500 reports nationally of U.S. citizens detained during immigration enforcement actions.

Timeline

Oct 9, 2026—ProPublica reports on the incident as part of broader investigation into U.S. citizens detained during immigration enforcement, including DHS response
May 1, 2026—MALDEF files Federal Tort Claims Act administrative claim seeking $2.5 million in damages per sibling and $2,000 for lost phones
Jul 23, 2025—Siblings tackled, handcuffed, and detained by ICE/HSI agents while filming a construction site immigration raid near their mother's home in Texas; phones confiscated
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