Two US Teens Planning to Enlist in Marines Claim to Have Been Assaulted by ICE Agents

Two American teenagers who claim they were on their way to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps when forcefully detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Alamo, Texas, in an encounter partially captured on video.

Video reported by the Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo appears to show federal agents surrounding the vehicle of two 17-year-olds, removing one of them from the car and using pepper spray. The individual recording the footage can be heard telling the agents that the two are minors. The video appears to show one of the teens being struck while on the ground.

One of the teenagers, Luis Ochoa, 17, told Telemundo that he and the other teen had stopped to record ICE agents detaining people near Santos Livas Elementary School when the agents turned toward them, according to video footage circulating online.

Ochoa said he told the agents he was a U.S. citizen and was allegedly told, “I don’t give a damn. Your parents can’t help you now.” He claimed he was pepper-sprayed, briefly got away to a nearby restaurant to seek help, and was then detained.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Military.com, which also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security.

This video does not show the full context of the stop, including what, if anything, preceded the moment the recording began or what the agents were responding to.

Eight-Hour Detention

The two teenagers were held for about eight hours before being released, according to Telemundo.

Ochoa’s mother told the broadcaster that the detention was one of the most frightening moments of her life and that she feared her son would be taken to Mexico.

She also told the outlet that her son, due to the encounter, has reconsidered his plans to enlist. The experience caused her to question how young men are supposed to serve a country that does not uphold their rights.

It is not clear from the reporting whether either teenager was charged with anything. Both were U.S. citizens, according to the account they gave Telemundo. ICE has not addressed this claim yet.

Recurring Incidents

The incident is the latest to draw attention to encounters between immigration agents and people connected to the U.S. military during the Trump administration’s expanded enforcement operations.

Credit: usicegov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Military.com previously reported on the detention of relatives of active-duty service members, including the father of a sailor deployed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

By some accounts, dozens of parents and spouses of active-duty troops have been detained during the current administration, and several have been deported.

President Donald Trump’s administration has defended these enforcement operations as a matter of following the law. Immigration enforcement was a major campaign policy he ran on in 2024, leading to a resounding presidential election victory.

Critics, on the other hand, have raised concerns about the treatment of U.S. citizens and military families caught up in them.

Alamo, Texas, sits in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border, a region with a heavy federal immigration presence.