Deaf California teenager says immigration officers assaulted him for not heeding commands

A deaf Los Angeles teenager says he was assaulted and taken into custody during a protest in downtown Los Angeles last month by federal immigration officers, who cited him for failing to comply with their directions.

Videos posted on Saturday, Jan. 24 to Instagram show armed agents, wearing U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security uniforms, chasing and tackling 18-year-old Anthony Paredes, seen wearing a red, green and white poncho, to the ground.

Multiple people are heard in the background yelling, “He’s deaf! He cannot hear!” and asking officers not to hurt him. “DHS agents just tackled a young deaf man to the ground,” the caption read. Another read, “DHS puts lives at risk.”

It was not clear what preceded the incident. DHS did not respond to requests for comment over the weekend.

“DHS came outside and started chasing a hearing woman, and ended up chasing me instead,” Paredes, who does not speak, said in a written statement that was provided to a reporter. “Because I’m disabled; they took advantage of that. … they targeted me because I’m deaf.”

At a Saturday, Jan. 31 press conference and rally in front of LA Unified School District headquarters, Paredes gathered with supporters and LAUSD educators, including his own teachers, to denounce the incident.

Around 60 educators and organizers from Union del Barrio, the Association of Raza Educators and Educator Power 2026 joined to decry what they called a violation of Paredes’ civil rights.

This was a “brutal assault for speaking out and standing for justice,” Ron Gochez, an LAUSD teacher and organizer with Unión del Barrio, said at the rally.

“As educators, we called this event together. We are here in support of Anthony, a high school student at LAUSD who was brutalized by the agents. We are here to support Anthony and demand justice.” Gochez said. “As teachers, we have the responsibility to not only teach our children in the classroom, but to defend our kids on the street as well.”

Paredes, who is a high school senior at Ramón C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts, said through an interpreter on Saturday that the encounter was “frustrating to navigate.” He said on social media that his chest hurt when they tackled him, and after he was taken into custody, no sign language interpreters were provided. Also, requests to use a bathroom were ignored.

“There were so many people, a lot of overlapping noises … they tackled me to the ground … I felt so alone. I used my phone to write back and forth,” Paredes said.

The 18-year-old said he was protesting that evening “on behalf of Alex Pretti, Renee Good, and all people who were brutally murdered” by federal immigration enforcement officers.

In a later statement shared to the media, Paredes said that he was “deeply disturbed” by ICE activity, which motivated him to join protesters nationwide assembled peacefully “to call attention to what they saw as excessive use of force.”

Minnesotans and people around the country have gathered in freezing temperatures, and at times by the tens of thousands, to object to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics and to defend their neighbors from ICE. They patrol in cars and on foot and film what officers do, stand outside schools to protect families, and deliver groceries to those fearful of leaving their homes.

Paredes called out President Donald Trump’s family for being immigrants themselves, and denounced the MAGA movement for, he said, “hating immigrants.

“Immigrants have helped build this country for generations. When we stand together and support one another, we are stronger. We should work together to protect families, friends and loved ones and to make sure everyone is treated with dignity and respect,” Paredes wrote. “I believe strongly in the right to peacefully protest and to speak up when something feels unfair. Peaceful protest is an important way for people to ask for change and to protect civil rights. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly, no matter who they are.”

At Saturday’s rally, organizers and LAUSD educators said they are going to file a claim and a lawsuit against the government, and will fight to have Paredes’ case dropped. They also called for more support and accessibility for the community.

At the rally, L.A. teacher Lupe Carrasco Cardona said she was proud of not only her students, but of educators who openly criticized ICE.

“We should not be attacked for trying to ensure that there is a better world out there for all of us, because every single student, all of our community members, enrich our communities,” Cardona said. “Never in my 26 years as an educator did I have students who actually know … terror in their streets, in their communities, in their families.”

Ingrid Villega, an organizer with United Teachers Los Angeles, said that Paredes watched “the death of an innocent American citizen (Alex Pretti), and that provoked him to come and stand for dignity and justice.

“He was exercising his constitutional right as a student, a human being, and a citizen in this country. But laws here don’t matter anymore. As educators, we are asking that all charges be dropped; that both the union and LAUSD use all their resources and relationships to ensure all the charges be dropped against Anthony,” Villega said.

“I can just imagine how much training those agents need to understand the (deaf) community, and make sure their rights are observed,” she said. “It’s ridiculous to give a deaf person orders and expect them to follow — and not to give that deaf person an interpreter, or a right to call his mom, his attorney — and still charge him.”

Guadalupe Diaz, Paredes’ mother, thanked those at Saturday’s rally for their support, and was grateful that her child is able to express himself despite not being able to hear or speak. She said she was concerned that during Friday’s encounter, federal agents did not provide her son with an interpreter.

“Let’s hope that what happened with Anthony makes them take our people, our families, into account,” Diaz said. “He’s doing this from the heart … it takes a lot of courage. What we want is simply for our voices to be heard and for justice to prevail above all else.”

A court date is set for April 1st.

On social media, Paredes also called for more accessibility and resources for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in LAUSD. He also called on the Latinx community, and those who support the deaf and hard-of-hearing to come to his hearing to support him.

“I’m going to continue showing up to these protests and not giving up my rights,” he signed. “This needs to stop — the goal is for ICE to melt, and we are fire! We have the power.”