Federal agents raided an Oklahoma home and seized the family’s life savings and personal belongings while executing a search warrant that had been issued for someone else.
The family, which consisted of a mother and her three daughters, all of whom were U.S. citizens, were left “traumatized” after being wrongly targeted in a search meant for the home’s former residents.
The woman said despite telling the immigration agents that they were U.S. citizens, they were “very rough, dismissive and careless.”
According to media outlets, the incident happened last week. While the federal agents had a search warrant for the home, the names listed on the document were no longer living at the address.
Despite that, 20 armed agents raided the home after kicking down the door in the middle of the night.
Initially, the woman had no idea what was going on. The house was dark at the time as the lights were off and she thought they were being robbed.
In an email, Deputy Chief of Public Affairs Brady McCarron said the U.S. Marshal Service was not involved in the case.
Wrongly Targeted
A senior official from the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that federal agents executed a “court-authorized search warrant related to a human smuggling investigation” involving eight individuals from Guatemala.
According to the official, the search warrants listed the Oklahoma home’s address, and the intended targets were the former occupants of the residence.
The woman and her daughters, who had only recently moved to Oklahoma from Maryland a few weeks ago, were hoping to live a more affordable lifestyle. The father was scheduled to join them in the new rental home this week.
Despite the fact that their names weren’t on the search warrant, immigration agents raided their home and took their belongings including laptops and phones. They also confiscated their life savings as “evidence.”
The mother explained to the agents that they had just moved to Oklahoma and that they had no money.
However, her pleading was futile as the agents ordered them to step outside the home. They were barely given any time to grab their jackets even though it was pouring rain.
The woman described the whole ordeal as “denigrating” and said the agents traumatized her family for life.
Before the armed agents left, the mother asked when they would be able to get their things back. She was told it could take up to several months.
