US Senator Patty Murray has condemned the Trump administration after alleging that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, often referred to as an 'attack dog', brutally attacked a 15-year-old undocumented immigrant.
Wilmer Toledo-Martinez, who is being held at the Northwest ICE processing center, suffered "horrific" injuries while in detention in November last year. According to Senator Murray, Toledo-Martinez was lured out of his home under false pretenses by an ICE agent posing as a construction worker and then released a dog which attacked him shortly after he stepped outside.
The senator claimed that Toledo-Martinez was not resisting arrest or attempting to flee when the dog attacked, but was instead left shaking and dizzy with vision blurring. Despite being in distress, he was denied medical care for hours before eventually receiving stitches, antibiotics, and additional medication at a hospital.
Senator Murray expressed outrage over the incident, calling on for Toledo-Martinez's immediate release. She stated that such actions by federal agents should shock the conscience of everyone and that she does not want to live in an America where agents can use attack dogs against peaceful residents with impunity and face no consequences.
The Department of Homeland Security has yet to respond to a request for comment regarding this incident. News of the attack comes amidst reports of other violent incidents involving ICE agents, including an incident in Vancouver where an agent appeared to run over a man's foot during an arrest, and US congresswoman Adelita Grijalva being sprayed with a chemical agent during a protest against a federal immigration raid.
Wilmer Toledo-Martinez, who is being held at the Northwest ICE processing center, suffered "horrific" injuries while in detention in November last year. According to Senator Murray, Toledo-Martinez was lured out of his home under false pretenses by an ICE agent posing as a construction worker and then released a dog which attacked him shortly after he stepped outside.
The senator claimed that Toledo-Martinez was not resisting arrest or attempting to flee when the dog attacked, but was instead left shaking and dizzy with vision blurring. Despite being in distress, he was denied medical care for hours before eventually receiving stitches, antibiotics, and additional medication at a hospital.
Senator Murray expressed outrage over the incident, calling on for Toledo-Martinez's immediate release. She stated that such actions by federal agents should shock the conscience of everyone and that she does not want to live in an America where agents can use attack dogs against peaceful residents with impunity and face no consequences.
The Department of Homeland Security has yet to respond to a request for comment regarding this incident. News of the attack comes amidst reports of other violent incidents involving ICE agents, including an incident in Vancouver where an agent appeared to run over a man's foot during an arrest, and US congresswoman Adelita Grijalva being sprayed with a chemical agent during a protest against a federal immigration raid.
, this is like totally unacceptable!!! The idea that some ICE agent would use a dog to attack a 15-yr-old kid is just crazy talk! 
I mean, what's next? Using police dogs on unarmed civilians? It's so wrong and inhumane. I'm all for keeping our borders safe, but this is not the way to do it. We need better training for these agents and more accountability for when they cross that line. 
. An 15-year-old kid, just a teenager, gets attacked by an ICE agent with a dog and then no medical care for hours? It's absolutely unacceptable 
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Wilmer Toledo-Martinez. The fact that an ICE agent was posing as a construction worker to lure him out of his home and then released a dog on him is just heartbreaking 
. And the worst part? He didn't even do anything wrong, he was just a 15-year-old trying to get by in this crazy country 
. I'm literally fuming over here! 
. Like, what's the point of even having laws if you're just gonna ignore them? And ICE, seriously, who does that? They're supposed to be protecting us, but instead they're out there hurting innocent kids like this kid 
. It sounds like the ICE agent was completely out of control and didn't care that they were putting this poor kid's life at risk. I mean, who does that? Using an attack dog to subdue someone? That's just inhumane 
. We need to start holding our law enforcement agencies accountable and making sure that they're treating people with respect and dignity, regardless of their immigration status. I mean, who wants to live in an America where the police can just use dogs and pepper spray on innocent people? It's not right, and we need to do something about it 
What kind of monster does that? The fact that Sen Murray is calling on for his release is totally justified, but I wish it didn't come to this... 
And what's up with the lack of response from DHS?! 
! Like, what kind of sick game are they playing with these kids? Attack dogs in ICE custody? 
... We need to hold our reps accountable for this kind of stuff! 
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