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A Chelsea mother and her two children sued the federal government Wednesday, alleging masked immigration officers unlawfully arrested and assaulted her near Chelsea District Court in September 2025.
The complaint alleges that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers forcibly detained Hilda Ramirez Sanan, 51, in front of her children without asking about her immigration status or checking the identification in her purse. Sanan is a lawful permanent resident who has lived in the United States for more than 20 years.
Her daughter, Michelle Ramirez Sanan, who was 17 at the time, and her son, identified in the lawsuit as J.R.S., who was 13, joined the case. Lawyers for Civil Rights and Zimmer, Citron & Clarke filed the lawsuit on the family’s behalf.
The family is seeking compensation for medical expenses, emotional distress and damage to Sanan’s vehicle.
“My family lives every day with the consequences of what ICE did to our family,” said Hilda Ramirez Sanan in a statement. “I want my children to know that we will stand up to fight for ourselves and the rights of immigrants who have also suffered abuse by ICE officers.”
What happened
According to the suit, on the morning of Sept. 25, 2025, Sanan was sitting in the back seat with one of her brothers-in-law while her son, who has autism, was sitting in the front with his uncle, who was driving. They were accompanying one of the brothers-in-law to a 9 a.m. hearing at Chelsea District Court.
The suit claims that four unmarked vehicles surrounded and blocked the car, and at least eight armed officers, wearing masks, hats, and sunglasses, swarmed the vehicle.
Without asking for identification or providing an opportunity to comply with any orders, the ICE officers shattered the front and back driver-side windows of the family’s car, sending shards of glass onto Sanan and her brother-in-law, who was driving the vehicle, the suit alleges.
ICE officers allegedly forcefully arrested her two brothers-in-law, then pulled Sanan from the car.
Videos show officers shoving her against a chain-link fence, twisting her arms behind her back, kicking her down, and smashing her face-first into the ground, allegedly causing her to lose consciousness.
ICE officers also pulled the boy out of the car — which had a disability placard displayed — and began questioning him about his immigration status. ICE agents allegedly threatened to arrest him if he did not answer.
Nearby, Michelle was waiting for her family at the courthouse when she heard what had happened and rushed outside. An ICE officer allegedly grabbed Michelle and shoved her away from her family. She cried out that her brother has autism, and one ICE officer allegedly told her to “shut up.”
ICE officers began dragging Sanan — whose legs had given out, according to the suit — toward one of their unmarked vehicles. Local police intervened and requested that the officers check her identification.
ICE then released her from custody and left the scene.
The complaint alleges that the Ramirez Sanan family suffered and continues to suffer severe harm, including financial harm, lasting physical injury, and emotional trauma.
Michelle later testified about the encounter at a congressional hearing on ICE’s treatment of children. Teen Vogue also featured her account.
In response to the allegations laid out in the complaint, an ICE spokesperson insisted that they did not try to arrest Ramirez Sanan.
Instead, ICE said that it was a targeted vehicle stop to arrest Jose Ramirez-Perez, who they say is a “criminal illegal alien” from Guatemala with charges for indecent assault and battery and a sex crime on a child.
ICE said that the driver and the passengers tried to hide Ramirez-Perez from law enforcement, but officers saw his ankle monitoring device.
“The driver and passenger refused to comply with officer commands,” an ICE spokesperson said. “Our officers used the proportionate amount of force necessary to make the arrest.”
Broader enforcement activity
In 2025, ICE launched two major operations. The first was “Operation Patriot,” which began in May, and the second was “Operation Patriot 2.0,” which began in September, the same month as the alleged encounter involving Sanan’s family. The operations resulted in thousands of arrests, including arrests of people with legal status.
In another high-profile case, ICE agents stopped a family on Mother’s Day 2025. That family also sued federal officials.
“ICE’s attack on the Ramirez Sanan family was brazen, inhumane, and deeply illegal,” said Jillian Lenson, senior attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights, in a statement. “The family deserves justice.”
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