Minneapolis — The state of Minnesota and federal authorities are investigating the alleged beating of a Mexican national by immigration officers last month, seeking to determine the cause of the eight skull fractures that landed the man in a Minneapolis hospital’s intensive care unit.
Investigators from the St. Paul Police Department and the FBI last week searched the parking lot of the shopping center where Alberto Castañeda Mondragon says Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents grabbed him from a car, threw him to the ground and Hit him repeatedly in the head With a steel club.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement blamed Castañeda-Mondragón for his injuries, saying he tried to escape while handcuffed and “fell and hit his head on a concrete wall.”
But hospital workers who treated the man told The Associated Press about the fall It cannot be reasonably calculated To the man’s brain hemorrhage and fragmented memory. A CT scan showed fractures to the front, back and sides of his skull, injuries a doctor told the AP were not consistent with a fall.
Earlier this month, the Associated Press published an interview with Castañeda Mondragón in which he said the arresting officers were “racists” and “ They started beating me immediately When they arrested me.” His lawyers claimed that ICE racially profiled him.
In separate visits to the shopping center last week, local and federal investigators requested surveillance footage from at least two companies, whose employees told the AP that their cameras either did not capture the Jan. 8 arrest or the images were overwritten because more than a month had passed before law enforcement requested the video.
Johnnie Ratana, who owns Tipo Market, an Asian grocery store facing the parking lot where the arrest occurred, said St. Paul police twice sent investigators to the store in recent days. The second time, the data technician sought to restore the automatically replaced images after 30 days, he said.
Ratana said FBI agents interested in the same footage also visited him.
The St. Paul Police Department did not respond to requests for comment. The FBI declined to comment.
The investigations come amid another federal probe into whether two Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers He lied under oath About the shooting in Minneapolis. Federal prosecutors dropped charges against two Venezuelan men — who were accused of attacking an officer with a snow shovel and broom handle — after video evidence contradicted the officers’ sworn testimony.
Meanwhile, the FBI notified Minnesota authorities last week that it would not share any information or evidence it collected in the Jan. 24 fatal shooting of Alex Pretty by federal immigration officers. This murder is the subject of the Ministry of Justice Civil rights investigation.
For several weeks, the US Department of Homeland Security refused to discuss any aspect of Castañeda-Mondragón’s injuries. She did not answer detailed questions from the AP, including whether her officers recorded body-worn camera footage of the arrest.
But last week the agency doubled down on its claims that Castañeda-Mondragón had injured himself.
“On January 8, 2026, ICE conducted a targeted enforcement operation to arrest Alberto Castaneda Mondragon, a 31-year-old illegal alien from Mexico who overstayed his visa,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the department’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. “While handcuffed, Castaneda attempted to escape custody and ran toward the main highway. While running, Castaneda fell and struck his head on a concrete wall.”
McLaughlin’s assertion that Castañeda-Mondragon was targeted for deportation contradicts a Jan. 20 court filing in which ICE said officers only determined the man had overstayed his work visa after he was in custody. McLaughlin did not respond to questions about the correct story.
Castañeda-Mondragon’s lawyers declined to comment on the ICE statement.
Criminal investigations can be complicated by the amount of time it takes for law enforcement to look into an arrest, even as many elected officials demand answers.
St. Paul police told the AP on February 5 that they were aware of the “serious allegations” surrounding the arrest, but could not begin investigating Castañeda-Mondragon’s injuries until he filed a police report — a step delayed for weeks by the man’s hospitalization and uncertainty about his immigration status. The police finally took his statement a week ago at the Mexican consulate.
By that point, at least one company had overwritten its surveillance footage.
“I expect that we will investigate allegations of past and future criminal conduct by federal agents to seek the truth and hold accountable anyone who violates Minnesota law,” Ramsey County Prosecutor John Choi said in a statement.
Castañeda-Mondragón was summoned to meet with ICE on February 23 at its main detention center in Minneapolis, raising the possibility of his return to custody and deportation.
___ Besecker reported from Washington and Brock reported from New Orleans. AP reporter Cedar Attanasio contributed from Seattle.