/ / USA: RELEASE JOURNALIST SHOT AND DETAINED BY ICE

USA: RELEASE JOURNALIST SHOT AND DETAINED BY ICE

UA: 111.26

Only 96 days left to join us and support this case!

Richard Parias is a citizen journalist who reports on issues in Los Angeles, California, including immigration enforcement raids. On October 21, 2025, he was driving away from his home when masked immigration agents, waiting in unmarked vehicles, surrounded his car with their vehicles and shot him in the arm. He has been detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center for nearly a year with persistent severe pain and swelling from the gunshot wound and is not receiving medical care.

Call for Richard’s immediate release from detention for immediate medical attention and for the protection of his right to free expression.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: January 31, 2027

Here is how you can take action:

Send a letter to Thomas Giles, ICE Field Office Director
Send a message to Thomas Giles, ICE Field Office Director using our email-writing tool
Post on social media
Print and share the paper petition for this UA

Scroll down to Step 1 and Step 2 to access the full Urgent Action appeal and sample letter, and U.S.P.S. mailing address (if available).

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Step 1

READ THE FULL URGENT ACTION

Enter your email address and zip code to get the sample letter to send to government officials.

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You can now write a letter in your own words or download the sample below as a guide.

Remember to send your letter by January 31, 2027.

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Sample Letter

Dear Field Office Director Giles,

I call for the release of citizen journalist Carlitos Ricardo Parias Ramales (A#246-059-603). In October 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shot and critically injured Mr. Parias while attempting to arrest him outside his home. I am concerned that he has been detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, a facility where four people have died since September 2025.

Despite the two judges who presided over the criminal case ordering his release from federal custody on bond in November 2025, Mr. Parias was handed over to ICE. One month later, the criminal case was dismissed. Yet, ICE continues to detain him unlawfully in cruel conditions and deny him the medical care he needs. Mr. Parias continues to suffer from the lingering effects of the gunshot wound involving pain and swelling while being denied adequate medical care. Despite this, he continues to report and sound the alarm on the treatment and care of other people detained inside Adelanto, including the presence of worms in the drinking water.

I am concerned that Mr. Parias was targeted by ICE due to his work as a citizen journalist. Months prior to his arrest, federal agents physically assaulted him while he was covering an immigration raid and wearing his ‘PRESS’ vest. His arrest and detention are part of a broader erosion of human rights in the United States in which immigration authorities are implementing a policy of mass detention and deportation, and commonly repressing free expression exercised by journalists who are immigrants.

I urge you to immediately release Mr. Parias from detention so that he may receive critical medical attention, due process in his immigration proceedings, and continue to exercise his right to freedom of expression.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

Step 2

Send your message

Mail your letter to the government officials listed below. You can also email, fax, call, or post about them on social media.

Send your letter to:

Thomas Giles, ICE Field Office Director

300 North Los Angeles St., Room 7631

Los Angeles, CA 90012

USA

[email protected]

When writing your letter, don’t forget to be factual, brief, and show respect. See more letter writing tips and emails, or organize and host a letter writing party.

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