A young man filmed border patrol agents carrying out a heavy-handed arrest in Florida, The Guardian reported Friday.
Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio, 18, who was heading to a landscaping job in North Palm Beach with his mother and two friends, didn't set out that day planning to record an immigration arrest — but after Florida Highway Patrol stopped the car and summoned Border Patrol officers, he stopped showing his mom a TikTok video and pressed record.
The video "appears to show a group of officers in tactical gear working together to violently detain the three men, two of whom are undocumented," reported Considine. "They appear to use a stun gun on one man, put another in a chokehold and can be heard telling Laynez-Ambrosio: 'You’ve got no rights here. You’re a migo, brother.' Afterward, agents can be heard bragging and making light of the arrests, calling the stun gun use 'funny' and quipping: 'You can smell that ... $30,000 bonus.'"
"Footage appears to show officers then reaching for Laynez-Ambrosio and his other friend as Laynez-Ambrosio can be heard protesting: 'You can’t grab me like that,'" said the report. "Multiple officers can be seen pulling the other man from the van and telling him to 'put your f------ head down'. The footage captures the sound of a stun gun as Laynez-Ambrosio’s friend cries out in pain and drops to the ground."
Laynez-Ambrosio's friend does not speak English, and Laynez-Ambrosio can be heard on the recording telling him in Spanish not to resist.
This incident comes amid further scrutiny on the Trump administration's orders for immigration officers to fill strict arrest quotas — a policy that has reportedly discouraged gang busts and other law enforcement activity against serious criminals, and encouraged agents to round up day laborers from Home Depots and other locations where they know they won't see resistance.
These quotas, according to another report, are eroding morale at the Department of Homeland Security as even agents themselves are confused and demoralized about their mission.
