Ecuadorian man says ICE agents beat him after refusing fingerprinting in Georgia
Oct 3, 2026·Location: Folkston, GA
Country of origin: Ecuador

Johnny Sebastián Lucas Barre, a 38-year-old Ecuadorian man held at the Folkston ICE Processing Center in Georgia, says agents handcuffed and beat him after he refused to sign a deportation order and provide fingerprints without a lawyer present. He said three agents threw him against a wall, struck him, and placed a foot near his head until he lost consciousness, later waking up in a wheelchair receiving medical attention and showing visible bruises on his wrists and body. His partner, Leidy Montalvo, said he had been working in the facility kitchen for a dollar a day when agents repeatedly pressured him to sign his deportation paperwork, and she has shared photos of his injuries publicly. Lucas Barre entered the U.S. through Texas in 2024 and was detained again in December after reporting a change of address at an immigration appointment in Orlando, Florida; he has a pending asylum/immigration appeal but no longer has a lawyer because he could not afford to continue paying for one. Immigration attorneys said fingerprints or a signature obtained while someone is unconscious would not be legally valid. Lucas Barre has since filed a federal habeas corpus petition against the facility's warden, which remains pending after the warden moved to dismiss it and his attorney filed a response opposing dismissal.
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