Army Veteran Says He Was Wrongfully Detained in ICE Raid, Plans to Sue

A U.S. Army veteran says he was snatched up, manhandled, and tossed in a cell for days in an immigration raid in California -- despite being a U.S. citizen.

George Retes, a 25-year-old security guard at a cannabis farm, told "TMZ Live" Thursday he was trying to get to work last week when ICE agents surrounded his car during a protest in Camarillo, northwest of L.A., last week ... shouting conflicting commands at him before smashing in his driver’s side window and dragging him out.

Catch the full clip ... 'cause George details the tense chain of events that followed, saying it all happened so quickly, he didn’t even get a chance to show my ID or explain he was a U.S. citizen -- and a former member of the military.

Retes claims he was hauled to a federal facility in downtown L.A. and placed on suicide watch for 3 days -- never told why he was there, and never offered basic care.

When he was finally released, officers told him there were no charges against him ... and simply sent him on his way with no transportation home.