Additional Coverage:
A 19-year-old teenager in New York City was left injured and bloodied following a confrontation with ICE agents, who reportedly used force against him before abandoning him in a park.
Jeury Concepcion required stitches after the incident on Wednesday afternoon near Gun Hill Road and Hull Avenue. According to Concepcion, several ICE agents tackled him, only to realize afterward that they had apprehended the wrong person. The agents then left him bruised and bleeding in a nearby park.
Concepcion told NBC New York that he suffered a concussion as a result of the encounter. The incident was recorded on video, capturing the moment a federal agent, gun drawn, ran toward Concepcion, who was standing outside a barber shop on Hull Avenue. Multiple agents then ordered him to stop, forced him to the ground, and handcuffed him.
Footage from bystanders shows Concepcion being lifted up with blood visibly dripping from his head. After detaining him, agents pressed him against a car before placing him in their vehicle.
During the car ride, Concepcion stated the agents requested his identification and cellphone, at which point they realized their error. One agent apologized, admitting they had confused him with someone else and assured him it would not happen again. Concepcion responded that he intended to report the incident.
He was subsequently left at an unfamiliar park before being reunited with his mother, who took him to the hospital for treatment.
This event occurs amid heightened tensions surrounding immigration enforcement in New York. Border Czar Tom Homan had previously threatened to deploy additional immigration agents to the city in response to proposed legislation supported by Governor Kathy Hochul, which aims to restrict local cooperation with federal immigration authorities. However, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin clarified that there are no immediate plans to send more agents to the state.
The Department of Homeland Security has been contacted for comment on the matter.