An Alabama construction worker who says he was twice detained by immigration agents despite being a U.S. citizen has filed a federal class-action lawsuit challenging workplace raids that he and his attorneys argue unlawfully target Latino workers in the state’s construction industry.

The complaint, filed in the Southern District of Alabama by Leonardo Garcia Venegas and the public interest law firm Institute for Justice, alleges that Department of Homeland Security policies encourage raids that single out workers based on appearance rather than evidence of unlawful status. It challenges three practices: entering private construction sites without warrants, detaining workers preemptively because they “look undocumented,” and continuing to hold them even after they present valid proof of citizenship.

Venegas, 26, was born in Florida and now works in Baldwin County as a concrete finisher. He says he was detained twice this year while working on residential construction projects. In one incident, agents jumped a fence and detained Latino workers while ignoring others, forcing Venegas to the ground despite showing them his Alabama-issued REAL ID driver’s license, which the agents claimed was “fake.” He was held for over an hour before being released after agents verified his Social Security number. He was detained again weeks later inside a home under construction, when agents entered without a warrant and again rejected his identification before eventually releasing him.

The lawsuit claims these actions are part of a broader enforcement program under the Trump administration. It points to the “Gulf of America Homeland Security Task Force,” a joint initiative of DHS, DOJ, ICE, CBP, FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals, and local law enforcement, which has carried out multiple raids on Alabama construction sites. Venegas’s attorneys argue that at least 15 other sites in Baldwin County have been raided this year without warrants or particularized suspicion, often focusing on Latino workers.

Institute for Justice attorneys argue that the raids violate constitutional protections against unlawful searches and seizures and exceed DHS’s statutory authority.

The Department of Homeland Security has maintained that immigration enforcement is based on “reasonable suspicion” and not on race or ethnicity. The agency has not addressed why Venegas was detained twice despite presenting valid identification.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status on behalf of three groups of workers: those subjected to warrantless raids, those detained without individualized suspicion, and those held after producing lawful identification. Venegas is asking the court to declare DHS’s policies unconstitutional, block their enforcement, and award damages for emotional distress, lost wages, and attorneys’ fees.