ICE Accountability Crisis: Eight Skull Fractures, Zero Answers
A Mexican citizen has eight skull fractures from a January ICE arrest in Minnesota. The agency says he did it to himself. The FBI says it won't share what it knows. And at least one nearby business already overwrote its surveillance footage before investigators could obtain it.
Alberto Castañeda Mondragón has been hospitalized since January 8, when ICE agents detained him in a St. Paul shopping center parking lot. He says agents threw him to the ground and repeatedly struck him with a steel baton. ICE's official position is that he "fell and hit his head against a concrete wall" while attempting to escape custody in handcuffs. His injuries required intensive care.
What makes this story worse is the paper trail. St. Paul police say they couldn't investigate until he filed a police report - which was delayed for weeks because of his hospitalization and uncertain immigration status. By the time investigators finally took his statement at the Mexican consulate, critical surveillance footage was gone. Meanwhile, the FBI - which is conducting a separate civil rights investigation into a related fatal ICE shooting in Minnesota - has formally notified state authorities it will not share evidence from that case either.
Now Castañeda Mondragón has been summoned to ICE's Minneapolis detention facility on February 23, raising the real possibility he could be detained again and deported before any accountability investigation concludes.
This is what obstruction looks like in real time.
Quick Hits
- Jesse Jackson's family asked for privacy and time to grieve before any memorial arrangements are announced. — The Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters in Chicago has become an informal gathering point, with community members stopping to pay respects. [Source]
- A California avalanche near Truckee's Castle Peak area caught four mountain guides and 12 skiers, — with at least six confirmed survivors and roughly 10 initially unaccounted for as of Tuesday afternoon. Search and rescue operations were underway. [Source]
- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani proposed a nearly 10 percent property tax rate increase, — framing it as a "last resort" if Governor Kathy Hochul refuses to raise income taxes on the wealthy to close a city budget gap. [Source]
- The ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup continues, with Zimbabwe qualifying for the Super 8 round after rain affected their match with Ireland — knocking both Australia and Ireland out of the tournament. [Source]
What to Watch Today
- ICE Feb. 23 Summons (watch now): Alberto Castañeda Mondragón has been ordered to appear at ICE’s Minneapolis detention facility next Monday. With the FBI blocking state investigators and surveillance footage already gone, worth watching whether he gets taken back into custody before any accountability process can conclude. Classic pattern: remove the witness before the investigation catches up.
- Ukraine: After Geneva talks ended this morning, watch for any official readout from the U.S. side. Witkoff and Kushner have been tight-lipped. What Zelensky says publicly in the next 48 hours will signal how bad the talks actually went behind closed doors.
- Iran Nuclear Follow-Up: Both Washington and Tehran described “guiding principles” agreed upon – watch for whether Iran delivers the detailed proposals they promised within two weeks, and whether the U.S. side confirms the same characterization of progress.
- Politics: With DOGE functionally stalled and conservatives publicly venting frustration, watch for whether Rep. Burchett’s new subcommittee makes any actual legislative moves or remains symbolic opposition theater.
- Congress: The Winter Olympics (Milan-Cortina) continue through this week, with Day 12 underway. No major U.S. committee votes or hearings scheduled of note today.
By The Numbers
The number of skull fractures Alberto Castañeda Mondragón sustained during his January ICE detention in Minnesota. ICE says he caused them himself by falling while handcuffed. Medical experts and investigators aren't so sure, and the FBI won't share what its officers recorded.
The estimated number of federal workers and contractors who left or were pushed out of the U.S. government during DOGE's 2025 operational period. House Democrats called the impact "devastating" at a hearing last week, and rebuilding the civil service is now a multi-year challenge regardless of who wins the next election.
The only DOGE-recommended cuts Congress actually passed into law - against a stated goal of $2 trillion. The gap between the promise and reality is now becoming a flashpoint within the Republican Party itself.
How long the second day of Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Geneva lasted before ending without agreement. The first day was reportedly far longer and, by multiple accounts, tense. A new round of talks was promised "soon" with no date set.
The age at which Jesse Jackson died Tuesday, after more than six decades in the civil rights movement, two presidential campaigns, and a lifetime of advocacy that helped reshape American politics and laid groundwork for the first Black president.
Quote of the Day
"It is my expectation that we will investigate past and future allegations of criminal conduct by federal agents to seek the truth and hold accountable anyone who has violated Minnesota law."
-- Ramsey County Chief Prosecutor John Choi, on the investigation into ICE's arrest of Alberto Castañeda Mondragón, who sustained eight skull fractures during detention. The FBI has declined to share evidence from a related case.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/02/17/immigration-enforcement-minnesota-ice-skull-fracture/
Bottom Line
Today is a day shaped by accountability gaps - or the lack of it. ICE agents in Minnesota are insulated from scrutiny by a federal information wall while a man with eight skull fractures awaits a summons that could deport him before any investigation concludes. The Geneva peace talks on Ukraine ended as they have before - difficult, businesslike, and inconclusive - with Trump continuing to pressure the invaded rather than the invader. And DOGE, the government overhaul promised to reshape Washington, has quietly stalled out with a fraction of its stated goals achieved and 300,000 workers pushed out in the process. Jesse Jackson's death is a reminder of what it looks like when someone actually fights those accountability gaps their whole life. The contrast is worth sitting with.