A video showing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents smashing a car window and forcibly removing a man from his vehicle has ignited new debates over the agency’s tactics and handling of immigration arrests.

Caught on camera

On Monday, ICE agents in New Bedford, Massachusetts, detained 29-year-old Juan Francisco-Mendez by smashing his car window and pulling him out as his wife filmed the incident. Francisco-Mendez, a Guatemalan national awaiting final asylum documentation, was not the individual the agents were reportedly searching for.

According to his attorney, Ondine Galvez Sniffin, agents were seeking a man named Antonio — a former resident of the building where Francisco-Mendez lives. Despite clear protests and attempts to wait for legal representation, agents escalated the situation.

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Case of mistaken identity?

“They said they were looking for a certain individual, by a different name,” Sniffin said. “I told them, that’s not my client. I know my client’s history, and that is not him.”

Francisco-Mendez’s wife, Marilu Domingo Ortiz, protected under asylum along with their 9-year-old son, watched in shock as agents shattered their car window.

ICE defends actions

In a statement, as reported by CBS News, ICE said Francisco-Mendez “refused to comply with officers’ instructions and resisted apprehension.” The agency insisted agents used “the minimum amount of force necessary.”

Community activist Adrian Ventura, who witnessed the scene, described the officers’ behavior as “very violent,” adding, “It was like there was an explosion when they broke the window.”

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By the time attorney Sniffin arrived, Francisco-Mendez had already been taken into custody. He is currently being held at a facility in Dover, New Hampshire, with no charges formally disclosed.

“I don’t have any answers for his wife,” Sniffin said. “She asked me when he’ll be coming home, and I can’t tell her.”