Chelsea, Massachussetts - An immigrant who holds a green card is suing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for what she describes as her "violent" and "unlawful" assault.

Massachusetts resident Hilda Ramirez Sanan is suing ICE after she was hospitalized following an assault by officers and then detained along with her two children, both of whom are US citizens.

According to a statement on the lawsuit, Sanan and her children were detained while attending the court hearing of her brother-in-law in Chelsea on September 26.

When they arrived, they were immediately surrounded by unmarked vehicles, out of which leapt ICE officers who then violently arrested Sanan and her two children.

"Within seconds, and without stopping to identify themselves, ask any questions, or give any warnings or orders for the passengers to follow, the officers surrounded the car," the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint describes how ICE proceeded to use "a sharp tool to shatter both the front and back windows on the driver side, hitting Ramirez Sanan" with broken glass and then "forcefully twisting her arms back to handcuff her, kicking her, and smashing her against the ground face-first."

The violent arrest, which Sanan's lawyers are arguing was unlawful and excessively violent, all took place "in front of her terrified children."

ICE then proceeded to aggressively unbuckle and pull her children out of the car, before questioning one of them about his immigration status.

"An officer threatened to arrest the 13-year-old if he did not answer or produce proof of legal status, despite his age, obvious distress, and disability," the suit states.

"My family is broken and will never be the same," Sanan said in a statement. "I don’t know how to explain to my children."