Meet Aliya Rahman, Disabled U.S. Citizen Assaulted, Jailed & Traumatized by ICE in Minneapolis

Aliya Rahman, a U.S. citizen with autism and a traumatic brain injury, was violently pulled from her car by ICE agents. Despite verbally identifying her disability, agents smashed her passenger window, used a combat knife to cut her seatbelt, and dragged her face-first to the ground, causing new injuries to her head, neck, and wrists.

Rahman's congressional testimony details agents yelling conflicting threats, the window glass flying, and her being carried face down by cuffed arms and legs while yelling about her brain injury. She states, 'Shooting pain went through my head, neck, and wrists when I hit the ground face first.'

Inside the Whipple Center, Rahman witnessed and experienced a complete disregard for human dignity. Agents referred to detainees as 'bodies,' denied medical screenings, and ignored requests for disability accommodations and legal representation. Rahman herself was denied medical care while conscious and only received it after falling unconscious, crediting a cellmate with saving her life.

Rahman recounts agents radioing, 'we're bringing in a body' and hearing agents at Whipple yell, 'They're bringing in bodies seven or eight at a time. There is no place to put them.' She was 'not given medical care at any point' and 'taken out of that place unconscious.'

Rahman was never asked for ID, told she was under arrest, read her rights, or charged with a crime. She was denied a phone call and access to a lawyer, despite repeatedly asking. This indicates a profound failure to uphold basic legal protections during her detention.

Rahman states, 'I was never asked for ID, never told I was under arrest, never read my rights, and never charged with a crime.' She also confirms, 'I asked for a lawyer. I asked, "Am I being charged with something?" I was not given a phone call. I was not able to speak to a lawyer.'

Alexa Van Brunt, Rahman's attorney, explains that victims of federal officer misconduct face significant legal barriers. While a Federal Tort Claims Act lawsuit can be filed against the government, individual federal officers cannot typically be sued in their personal capacity due to limitations imposed by the 'Bivens doctrine.' This contrasts with state or county law enforcement, who can be sued individually.

Van Brunt states, 'they cannot sue the officers in their individual capacity. They cannot name those officers in a lawsuit because we do not have the same forms of legal redress for federal officers that we do for state officers.'