Los Angeles, CA: The footage is shaky, but the audio is crystal clear. It captures the exact moment “public safety” became public assault.
In a video circulating from a weekend protest outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, DHS agents are seen tackling Anthony Paredes, an 18-year-old high school senior, into the concrete. As the agents pile onto his back, the crowd isn’t chanting political slogans. They are screaming a warning.
“He is deaf! He is deaf! He cannot hear you!”
The agents didn’t pause. They didn’t check. They drove him into the pavement, handcuffed him, and hauled him away. The official justification is “failure to comply with directions.”
Criminalizing Disability
You have to read the charge to believe it. Federal agents arrested a deaf student for failing to obey verbal commands he physically could not hear.
According to Paredes, the scene was chaos. DHS agents had rushed the crowd to chase a woman. As panic spread and people ran, agents singled out Paredes and took him down. He wasn’t the original target. He wasn’t fighting. He wasn’t resisting. He just couldn’t hear the shouting men behind him.
The Silent Cell
The violation didn’t end on the street. It followed him into custody.
Under federal disability law, law enforcement is required to provide effective communication for deaf detainees. DHS ignored this. Paredes was processed, booked, and held without an American Sign Language interpreter.
The cruelty became granular. While detained, Paredes attempted to mouth to the agents that he needed to use the restroom. Instead of assistance, he received shrugs.
They knew he was deaf. They chose to ignore his basic human needs because it was inconvenient to accommodate them.
The “Public Safety” Lie
DHS will tell you this is about maintaining order.
But look at the reality. A high school student was assaulted for being deaf in public. He was denied his constitutional rights in a cell. He was charged with a crime that amounts to “being disabled while standing near a protest.”
If agents cannot distinguish between “non-compliance” and a physical disability, they are not keeping the public safe. They are the danger.
1. KFF Health News / The Orange County Register
Headline: Deaf LA Teenager Says Immigration Officers Assaulted Him For Not Heeding Commands
Context: This report detai assault allegations, the lack of an interpreter during the incident, and the official citation issued for “failing to comply.”
Context: This article confirms the protest locations, including the Metropolitan Detention Center, and highlights the involvement of LAUSD educators in the demonstrations.
Eyes On Intel is a podcast dedicated to exposing the systems that enable immigration enforcement, surveillance, and systemic harm. It provides listeners with the tools to dismantle those systems.
Remember: **Open hearts. Open minds.**
Eyes On Intel is a podcast dedicated to exposing the systems that enable immigration enforcement, surveillance, and systemic harm. It provides listeners with the tools to dismantle those systems.
Remember: **Open hearts. Open minds.**
