OXNARD — On June 16, 2025, armed immigration agents forcibly entered an auto body shop in Oxnard and arrested the father of U.S. citizen Juan Carlos Ramirez, who filmed the encounter. According to a legal claim filed against the federal government, agents pepper-sprayed Ramirez, slammed him onto the hoods of two vehicles, punched his face, and kneed him in the side during the operation.

Homeland Security spokesperson Lauren Bis stated that ICE officers are held to the highest professional standards and receive regular training. Bis said Juan Carlos Ramirez refused officers’ commands and physically attacked them, so they pepper-sprayed him in self-defense. She wrote, "The pattern is NOT of law enforcement using force. It’s a pattern of violent agitators attacking our law enforcement."

The incident is among nearly 80 federal tort claims filed since early 2025, with claimants across the country seeking at least $260 million in damages related to immigration enforcement actions. Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, individuals must first request review by the responsible federal agency before filing a lawsuit in federal court. Federal agencies have six months to respond by either denying the claim or offering a settlement.

In federal tort cases, judges—not juries—decide the outcome, and only federal agencies, not individual employees, can be named as defendants. Most of the reviewed claims remain in the agency review stage, but lawyers anticipate that most will not be settled, leading to a wave of lawsuits beginning in summer 2026.

Benjamin Zipursky, a Fordham University law professor, said plaintiff lawyers worry the Trump administration will claim immigration enforcement actions are protected policy judgments under the “discretionary function exception,” which can shield federal agencies from tort liability.

California Democrats are pursuing legislation to make it easier for state residents to seek financial damages for constitutional violations by federal agents. Maryland, Illinois, and Connecticut have already enacted similar laws, though the Trump administration has sued to block enforcement in Illinois and Connecticut.