Mexican immigrant suffers eight skull fractures during ICE arrest in St. Paul; FBI investigating
Jan 23, 2026·Location: St. Paul, MN
Country of origin: Mexico

Alberto Castañeda Mondragón, a 31-year-old roofer from Veracruz, Mexico, who founded a construction company in St. Paul and supports a 10-year-old daughter in Mexico, suffered at least eight skull fractures and brain hemorrhages after his Jan. 8 arrest near a St. Paul shopping center. ICE initially claimed he ran headfirst into a brick wall while handcuffed, but nurses and an outside physician said his injuries were inconsistent with that account, and one ICE officer reportedly told hospital staff he "got his (expletive) rocked." His lawyers said he was racially profiled as "a brown-skinned, Latino Spanish speaker" and that his arrest warrant was signed by an ICE officer rather than a judge; a federal judge later ordered his release from custody. His brother said he has significant memory loss, cannot work for the foreseeable future, and has been taken in by coworkers since he has no family in Minnesota.
Sources
- CBS News
- CourtListener
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postbulletin.com·Feb 6, 2026·archived copy
- Minn. man hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after ICE arrest
sahanjournal.com·Jan 20, 2026·archived copy
- ICE claim that a man shattered his skull running into wall triggers tension at a Minnesota hospital
winnipegfreepress.com·Jan 30, 2026·archived copy
- CourtListener
- Takeaways from AP report on ICE claims that immigrant shattered his skull running into wall
infonews.ca·Jan 30, 2026
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