Immigration

North Carolina Citizen Files Damages Claim After Border Patrol Arrested Him, Then Left Him on the Roadside

A viral video showed immigration officers uncuffing Fernando Vasquez and then dumping his papers onto the ground before driving off.

C.J. Ciaramella | 8.7.2026 1:14 PM

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(Photo: Cristina Matuozzi/Sipa USA/Newscom)

A North Carolina man has filed a claim seeking damages from the federal government, alleging he was arrested last year by immigration officers despite having valid REAL IDs, then dumped on the side of the road once the officers confirmed he was a U.S. citizen.

Viral cell phone video taken on November 18, 2025, by Fernando Vazquez Orea, an 18-year-old landscaper, showed Border Patrol agents uncuffing Vasquez in a wooded area. One of the officers throws Vasquez's ID and other papers out of an SUV, onto the ground, before driving off.

They got me at CHAPEL HILL RD and NE MAYNARD RD

♬ original sound - Nando7x

Now Vasquez, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of North Carolina, has filed a claim for damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act, a typical precursor to filing a civil lawsuit if the claim is ignored or denied by the government. Vasquez's claim alleges Border Patrol officers detained and handcuffed him during a warrantless construction site raid on November 18, 2025, and loaded him into an SUV, even though Vasquez provided the officers with his REAL ID.

"I am a hardworking blue-collar worker........

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