A U.S. citizen says ICE agents pointed a gun at his face, broke his truck windows and detained him during an arrest in east Charlotte on Wednesday.
Atilio Portillo, who lives in east Charlotte, says he was on his way to work with his brother and nephew on Wednesday morning when ICE vehicles boxed in their pickup truck on Idlewild Road near W.T. Harris Boulevard.
Portillo says agents demanded identification and ordered him at gunpoint to open the driver’s door. He told them he was a U.S. citizen. Bystander video captures Portillo yelling, “I am a U.S. citizen.”
When he refused to open the door, Portillo says, agents broke the truck’s windows and pulled the three men out. He and his nephew, also a U.S. citizen, were handcuffed for nearly 30 minutes while agents checked their citizenship. Portillo says agents did not show him a warrant.
Portillo is from El Salvador. He says he came to the U.S. in 1988 and became a citizen in 2013.
“I feel frustrated and helpless because I couldn’t do anything,” Portillo told WFAE. “In fact, I couldn’t sleep last night. They didn’t just take me out of the truck; they pointed a gun at my face.”
ICE agents released Portillo and his nephew. His brother, whom Portillo says is undocumented, was taken to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia.
ICE has not responded to WFAE’s request for comment.
