Jose Paniagua Calderon -- Legs Crushed by ICE Vehicle During Arrest¶

Date of Incident: December 2025
Published by: Mortui Vivos Docent Intelligence Project

Executive Summary¶

On December 4, 2025, ICE agents detained Jose Guadalupe Paniagua Calderon, 27, in front of El Antojo restaurant at 2505 East Fourth Plain Boulevard in Vancouver, Washington. Multiple eyewitness videos show agents boxing in his vehicle with unmarked SUVs, smashing his car window, dragging him out, restraining him on the ground, and then driving a silvery-gray Ford SUV over his right foot/leg while he lay restrained and screaming.

The Department of Homeland Security, through Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin, dismissed the injuries as "an Oscar-level performance" and "pure theatre," claiming X-rays showed "ZERO fractures, dislocations or injuries." DHS refused to release those X-rays to the victim, his family, the Vancouver Police Department, or the media.

The Vancouver Police Department opened a traffic investigation but suspended it on January 8, 2026, after ICE refused to provide agent identities, body camera footage, medical records, or any documentation.

Following his arrest, Paniagua Calderon was transferred across four states -- Tacoma (WA) to El Paso (TX) to Brazil (IN) to Kentucky -- in what his family alleges is retaliatory punishment for speaking out about the assault. An immigration judge granted bond, but ICE invoked an "automatic stay" to block his release. As of February 2026, he remains detained despite the bond order, reporting ongoing pain, fever, dizziness, headaches, numbness in his foot, and severe earache -- while being denied adequate medical care.

Victim Profile¶

Field	Detail
Full Name	Jose Guadalupe Paniagua Calderon
Age	27 at time of arrest
Residence	Vancouver, Washington
Occupation	Construction and roofing worker
Character	Churchgoer; described by family as having no criminal record
Criminal History	Single 2022 infraction: fishing at a dam where prohibited. $78 fine paid in full. No felonies, no misdemeanors.
Family	Brother: Cristian Paniagua. Sister-in-law: Carmen Paniagua (primary family spokesperson).

The Arrest -- December 4, 2025¶

Location and Circumstances¶

Date: December 4, 2025, approximately 12:45 PM
Location: 2505 East Fourth Plain Boulevard, Vancouver, WA -- in front of El Antojo restaurant
Context: Paniagua Calderon was commuting home from work

What Happened¶

Multiple eyewitness videos and accounts establish the following:

Vehicle boxed in: ICE agents in unmarked vehicles surrounded his SUV. His sister-in-law: "He had no clue it was ICE. He thought he was just being stopped by police."
Window smashed: ICE agents shattered his car window.
Forced extraction: Agents dragged him from the vehicle and threw him to the ground.
Restraint: Agents applied wrist restraints while he was on the ground.
Vehicle driven over his legs: While restrained and on the ground, a silvery-gray Ford SUV was driven over his right foot/leg. Video analysis noted: "the driver's side rear wheel clearly lifts, as Calderon screams, suggesting it rolled over an object."
Denial of medical care: No medical care at the scene. He was "grabbed by his injured foot and thrown inside the federal vehicle."
Transport: Taken to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, WA (~170 miles). No medical care during transport.

Eyewitness Accounts¶

Derek Boe (witness):

"You can just hear the guy screaming, and it sounded like he was either distraught or in extreme pain. It was just a horrible sounding scream."

Carmen Paniagua (sister-in-law):

"The screams that followed will forever haunt us."
"He was grabbed by his injured foot and thrown inside the federal vehicle."

Cristian Paniagua (brother):

"Nobody should be treated like an animal. Nobody should be treated like that."

Video Evidence¶

Multiple cellphone videos were recorded by community members:

Videos show ICE vehicles surrounding Paniagua Calderon's SUV.
Agents are visible smashing his car window and extracting him.
A silvery-gray Ford SUV is driven over his right leg/foot while he lies restrained. The wheel visibly lifts.
A second video shows him screaming as agents lifted him into a vehicle -- contradicting DHS claims he "walked around normally."
The Vancouver PD analyzed videos with frame-by-frame magnification software: "The video appears to show that the arrested person's foot may have been struck by an ICE agent's vehicle during the arrest."

Key contradiction: DHS claimed he "walked around normally immediately after." Video shows him being lifted and carried while screaming.

Medical Evidence¶

Injuries Reported¶

Right foot: Crushing injury from vehicle
Ear: Lacerations from glass shards
Ongoing symptoms: Pain, fever, dizziness, headaches, numbness in foot, severe earache, weight loss

DHS Claims vs. Reality¶

DHS claimed X-rays showed "ZERO fractures, dislocations or injuries." However:

X-rays never released to anyone -- victim, family, attorneys, police, or media.
"Multiple X-rays" for no injury: Carmen Paniagua: "It is dumbfounding to claim they did not run him over, but did 'multiple' expensive X-ray tests."
No medication until December 7 -- three days after arrest.
Persistent symptoms months later contradict "ZERO injuries."
X-rays cannot detect ligament tears, tendon damage, nerve damage, or deep bruising -- all possible from a vehicle running over a foot.

DHS Response: "Oscar-Level Performance"¶

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, stated publicly:

"Never happened. ICE did NOT run over this illegal alien's leg. Pure theatre. No Injury."

"After ICE officers applied wrist restraints, Paniagua launched into an Oscar-level performance, dramatically screaming while officers simply moved his vehicle off the roadway."

"He walked around normally immediately after without issue."

Analysis¶

Dehumanizing language: "this illegal alien" -- dehumanizes the victim.
Gaslighting: Calling documented screaming "Oscar-level performance" while multiple witnesses and videos corroborate real pain.
Embedded admission: "while officers simply moved his vehicle off the roadway" acknowledges a vehicle was driven near the restrained man.
Pattern of false statements: In a separate Hoffman Estates, IL case, McLaughlin falsely claimed an arrest video was from a year-old Chicago PD case. CBS News and Chicago PD debunked this.
Evidence withheld: Claimed exculpatory evidence exists but refused to release any of it.

Law Enforcement Investigation -- Suspended¶

The Vancouver Police Department opened a traffic investigation on December 5, 2025. On January 8, 2026, Police Chief Troy Price suspended it. VPD had been unable to obtain:

ICE internal investigation documents
Body camera footage from ICE agents
Identities of any agents involved
Medical records referenced by DHS
Contact with the victim or his attorney

The ICE Office of Professional Responsibility stated it was "an open federal case" and would provide nothing. This creates a paradox: ICE controls whether the investigation concludes, and while it remains "open," no external oversight is possible.

Retaliatory Transfers¶

Date	Facility	Distance from Home
Dec. 4, 2025	NW ICE Processing Center, Tacoma, WA	~170 miles
~Dec. 10, 2025	Camp East Montana, Fort Bliss, El Paso, TX	~1,700 miles
~Dec. 20-23, 2025	Clay County Jail, Brazil, IN	~2,200 miles
Late Dec. 2025	Kentucky facility (unspecified)	~2,500+ miles

The first transfer occurred less than a week after the family spoke publicly and a rally was held at Vancouver City Hall.

Carmen Paniagua:

"This is a clear act of retaliation over us speaking out, and a clear attempt to silence us."
"These are not normal transfers. These are extreme, unjustified and completely unexplained movements."
"ICE did not try to inform us, and we were left in the dark, terrified about losing our loved one."

Broader Transfer Pattern (OPB/KUOW, Deportation Data Project)¶

1,500 people sent on trips over 1,000 miles under current administration
Under Biden: 337 people
In 2023: just 90 people
2,500 people detained in the Pacific Northwest transferred at least once
650 moved at least three times

Legal Proceedings¶

Bond Granted, Then Blocked¶

In mid-January 2026, an immigration judge granted bond. The family posted it and traveled to Kentucky. ICE immediately appealed, invoking an "automatic stay."

Aaron Korthuis, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project:

"There is a regulation that allows ICE to invoke what's called an auto stay, which automatically stays a judge's decision."
Courts have "repeatedly declared" this "unlawful because it basically erodes the check on DHS and ICE detention authority."

Alan Unell (Indivisible Greater Vancouver) noted the bond approval was "fairly rare."

The family returned to Vancouver without him.

Evidence Obstruction¶

Evidence	Status	Significance
Agent identities	Withheld	Prevents accountability
Body camera footage	Withheld	Would prove or disprove assault
X-ray results	Claimed exculpatory, withheld	If exculpatory, releasing ends controversy
Medical records	Withheld	Prevents independent assessment
Internal investigation	"Open case" blocks all access	ICE controls whether it concludes
Physical separation	3,000+ miles from jurisdiction	Prevents investigation, separates from counsel
Communication gaps	Family cut off during transfers	Prevents victim from participating in defense

Three weeks earlier, ICE agents attacked another Vancouver resident.

Date: November 14, 2025
Victim: Wilmer Toledo-Martinez -- married to U.S. citizen, father of three U.S.-born children (ages 2, 3, 7)
Method: Agent lured him from home posing as a construction worker, then released a K-9 attack dog.
Injuries: Gashes requiring stitches; blurry vision, numbness, difficulty breathing.
Medical Care: Denied for hours.
Senator Murray: Called it "egregious use of force" and noted he had no criminal convictions.

Both Vancouver cases: (1) violent arrest with disproportionate force, (2) denial of medical care, (3) false DHS statements, (4) deception during arrest.

Pattern Analysis¶

Car Window Smashing as Tactic¶

ProPublica: Nearly 50 documented instances of agents breaking car windows since January 2025, vs. 8 in the previous decade. No policy change -- reflects arrest quotas and aggressive culture. Officers who use violent tactics are promoted, not disciplined.

DHS Disinformation¶

McLaughlin's "Oscar-level performance" is part of a documented pattern where DHS statements are contradicted by video evidence across multiple incidents.

Accountability Vacuum¶

17+ open-fire incidents by federal immigration agents since July 2025 (The Trace)
24+ ICE employees/contractors charged with crimes since 2020 (AP)
32 deaths in ICE custody in 2025; 6+ in early 2026
Congressional calls for DHS Inspector General review (Goldman, Warren, et al.)

Community and Legislative Response¶

December 8, 2025: ~100 people rallied at Vancouver City Hall (Indivisible Greater Vancouver, MoveOn-Clark County)
January 9, 2026: Vigil in east Vancouver
February 2, 2026: Carmen and Ulises Paniagua spoke at Latino Legislative Day before thousands in Olympia