Home surveillance cameras captured the moment a federal immigration officer pointed an assault-style rifle at a dad of five and kicked him.
Jose Campollo, 56, who has lived in the U.S. for 30 years, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after returning to his home in Wilmington, California.
“I just didn’t know what to do,” Campollo’s daughter, Beatriz Campollo, told KTLA.
The home surveillance video shows Campollo’s wife calling for help from behind the gates of their property as the federal agent points the gun at her husband and kicks him in his midsection. According to the family, Campollo had just returned from dropping his grandson off at school.
Another video, recorded by Campollo’s son, shows him asking officers to present a warrant and identify themselves.
“It broke my heart just seeing my dad kicked like that,” Campollo’s son, Jose Campollo Jr., told NBC Los Angeles. “I felt useless, like I couldn’t do anything.”
The family recalled that around two months ago, one of Campollo’s sons was arrested and deported. “We don’t want our family to fall apart,” said Beatriz Campollo.
Campollo’s daughter told KTLA that there are so many immigration cases that it has been difficult for the family to find a lawyer.
The family believes Campollo’s detention may have been tied to what they described as a wrongful charge from 1994 that has since been dismissed.
Speaking to KTLA, immigration attorney Alma Rosa Nieto suggested that immigrants carry documentation with them at all times. “They should have documents because, unfortunately, sometimes the records that ICE bases arrests on are not updated,” she said.
The Department of Homeland Security described Compollo as a “sexual predator” in a statement to the Daily Beast and said he had “illegally entered the country THREE TIMES.”
“His criminal history includes rape and driving without a license,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “In 1995, and immigration judge issued him final order of removal and he was deported. In 2006, he was arrested by Border Patrol and granted voluntary departure. He chose to illegally enter the U.S. again at an unknown date and time.”
The 56-year-old’s detention comes days after the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling lifted restrictions on ICE agents carrying out stops in Los Angeles without “reasonable suspicion.”
“We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low wage job,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said about the decision.
Following the Supreme Court decision, the Department of Homeland Security said on X that it would “FLOOD THE ZONE in Los Angeles.”
In June, President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles after protests erupted against ICE agents carrying out immigration sweeps.
According to KTLA, Campollo is being held at a detention center in San Bernardino County.
