EPISODE · Jun 23, 2026 · 17 MIN
A U.S. Citizen Detained and Released Three Separate Times
from The Raid · host John Carlos Frey
He was born in the United States. He has a Real ID, a Social Security number and a birth certificate. ICE detained him three times in less than one year. Leonardo Garcia Venegas is a 26-year-old construction worker from Baldwin County, Alabama. In May 2025, ICE agents raided a private job site, tackled him to the ground, and held him in handcuffs for over an hour — ignoring his proof of citizenship. Two weeks later, different agents made the same assumption at a different construction site. Then in May 2026 — while he was the lead plaintiff in an active federal lawsuit challenging these exact tactics — agents pulled him from his truck in front of his own house and shackled him. In this episode of The Raid, investigative journalist John Carlos Frey traces the full story: from the first raid to the federal courthouse to the morning they came back again. https://theraidpodcast.org/ https://www.newsweek.com/how-ice-agents-detained-one-us-citizen-three-times-11928213 https://abcnews.com/US/lawyer-us-born-citizen-detained-ice-disputes-interfering/story?id=126162608 https://ij.org/case/alabama-construction-site-raids Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
What this episode covers
He was born in the United States. He has a Real ID, a Social Security number and a birth certificate. ICE detained him three times in less than one year. Leonardo Garcia Venegas is a 26-year-old construction worker from Baldwin County, Alabama. In May 2025, ICE agents raided a private job site, tackled him to the ground, and held him in handcuffs for over an hour — ignoring his proof of citizenship. Two weeks later, different agents made the same assumption at a different construction site. Then in May 2026 — while he was the lead plaintiff in an active federal lawsuit challenging these exact tactics — agents pulled him from his truck in front of his own house and shackled him. In this episode of The Raid, investigative journalist John Carlos Frey traces the full story: from the first raid to the federal courthouse to the morning they came back again. https://theraidpodcast.org/ https://www.newsweek.com/how-ice-agents-detained-one-us-citizen-three-times-11928213 https://abcnews.com/US/lawyer-us-born-citizen-detained-ice-disputes-interfering/story?id=126162608 https://ij.org/case/alabama-construction-site-raids Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.
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A U.S. Citizen Detained and Released Three Separate Times
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