A U.S. citizen shot by an immigration officer in southern California has sued the federal government for more than US$25 million, alleging excessive force, false arrest and malicious prosecution after criminal charges against him were dismissed.

Carlos Jimenez, a father of three from Ontario, California, filed the lawsuit in federal court on Friday, according to reporting by The Guardian’s Sam Levin. The complaint also alleges that FBI agents interfered with his hospital care after the shooting. Jimenez says bullet fragments remain lodged near his lung.

The shooting happened on Oct. 30, 2025, as Jimenez was heading to his job at a food pantry. According to the lawsuit, he approached Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at about 7 a.m. to tell them children would soon be arriving at a nearby bus stop.

The complaint alleges that officer Eusebio Ortiz pointed a gun at Jimenez’s face and threatened to shoot him unless he left. Jimenez says he complied but had to make a three-point turn because officers’ vehicles blocked his way. Ortiz then fired into his car without warning, striking his back and right shoulder, the suit alleges.

The lawsuit says no officer was in the vehicle’s path when the shots were fired.

The Department of Homeland Security offered a different account at the time, saying Jimenez had tried to run officers over by reversing toward them and describing the gunfire as defensive. Federal prosecutors charged him with assault on a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon.

Jimenez’s lawsuit calls those charges fabricated. It also alleges that an FBI agent falsely attributed statements to two neighbours who later told defence lawyers they had not witnessed the shooting.

According to the complaint, agents removed Jimenez from his hospital bed, restrained him and drove him back to the scene for questioning while a bullet remained lodged in his body.

In May, a judge ordered the government to produce agents’ communications. Prosecutors subsequently agreed to resolve the criminal case through diversion, allowing the charges to be dropped if Jimenez met certain conditions. The charges were formally dismissed last week, The Guardian reported.

Justice Department spokesperson Ciaran McEvoy did not comment on the lawsuit but told The Guardian that Jimenez could have gone to trial and instead requested a diversion agreement. DHS referred questions to the Justice Department, while the FBI declined to comment.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for medical expenses and lost wages, alongside damages for the alleged violations.

Sources