A Venezuelan asylum seeker injured during an encounter with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last month has submitted a sworn statement that contradicts the agency鈥檚 version of events.
said ICE agents forced her to the ground after a May 19 car chase and crash, breaking her knee and causing other injuries that required emergency surgery. The agency claims she sustained the injuries in the crash itself. Medical records submitted by her attorneys appear to support her account. At the hospital a few hours after the incident, Moreno L贸pez repeatedly told doctors that she was injured after getting out of her vehicle.
Moreno L贸pez鈥檚 injuries fuel concerns that ICE鈥檚 tactics have become increasingly violent during President Donald Trump鈥檚 second term. Another migrant, Mohamd Salim Abdessamed, was last week after an apparent ICE car chase.
ICE has denied misconduct by its agents during Moreno L贸pez鈥檚 detention.
Moreno L贸pez and Abdessamed were both treated at hospitals in the Detroit area 鈥� the Detroit Medical Center鈥檚 Detroit Receiving Hospital and Corewell Health in Dearborn, respectively 鈥� that refused to share information about the patients鈥� medical statuses, even with family members, apparently .
Attorneys for Moreno L贸pez filed a petition for in federal court seeking her immediate release from the North Lake detention center, arguing that she was unlawfully detained and won鈥檛 receive adequate medical care.
Competing accounts
Moreno L贸pez, who entered the country through legal channels in 2024, had just left her home on Detroit鈥檚 eastside on May 19 when ICE agents attempted to pull her over.
, she tried to drive away before agents cut her off, causing her to crash her SUV into a parked car.
Jennifer Newby, an assistant attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, asserted in federal court last week that Moreno L贸pez broke her kneecap in the crash.
But medical records submitted by her attorneys indicate she told hospital staff that her injuries occurred after.
鈥淪he was getting out of her car when she was tackled to the ground and hit her knees, right elbow/arm and left side of her face on the concrete,鈥� one doctor wrote.
In her sworn statement, Moreno L贸pez said, 鈥淚 exited my car. Two ICE agents tackled me to the ground. One, with orange hair and a beard, grabbed my hair and pulled my shirt.鈥�
According to her medical records, Moreno L贸pez鈥檚 injuries include a fractured kneecap, a laceration on the other knee that required eight stitches, a large scrape on her right forearm, a blow to the head, and bruises on her neck and face. She did not lose consciousness during the incident, and scans found no severe brain injury, though she was diagnosed with head trauma.
鈥楽ubpar medical care鈥�
After Moreno L贸pez鈥檚 surgery, doctors prescribed orthopedic rehabilitation. They expected her to be discharged to an ICE facility in Cincinnati capable of meeting her medical needs, records show.
Instead, she was taken to North Lake, where held to access. are 鈥減ervasive and serious,鈥� according to a recent report from the .
North Lake medical records filed by the government show that the facility鈥檚 initial care program for Moreno L贸pez involved walking down a hallway three times a day using a walker.
Her attorneys argue she should be freed immediately because the facility鈥檚 鈥渟ubpar medical care鈥� would cause her irreparable harm.
ICE attorneys argue that there is no evidence that Moreno L贸pez has received inadequate medical care at North Lake.
GEO Group, the for-profit company that operates North Lake, referred questions to ICE.
鈥淭hese incidents are not just a matter of immigration policy, but also civil rights and healthcare for vulnerable individuals,鈥� said Christine Sauv茅, spokesperson for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. 鈥淚t really is a public health crisis. Patients like Yerlys may suffer harm when returned to immigration detention where specialty medical care is routinely unavailable or inadequate, despite the laws and policies requiring it.鈥�
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