DHS says immigration agents appear to have lied about shooting in Minnesota : NPR
ICE agents leave the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on February 4, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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Two federal immigration agents involved in the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis last month appear to have lied about the details of the incident, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Friday.
The agents were placed on administrative leave after “a joint review by ICE and the Department of Justice of video evidence found that sworn testimony provided by two separate agents appears to have made untrue statements,” spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said.
The rare acknowledgment of potential missteps by ICE agents comes after the agency’s acting director, Todd Lyons, told Congress on Thursday that ICE had conducted 37 investigations on officers’ use of force over the past year. He did not say whether anyone had been fired.
McLaughlin said the agency is investigating the Jan. 14 shooting of the Venezuelan immigrant and that the officers involved could be fired or criminally prosecuted for any violations.
“The men and women of ICE are charged with upholding the rule of law and are held to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and ethical conduct,” McLaughlin said in Friday’s statement. “Violations of this sacred oath will not be tolerated.”
EDS originally said police officer shot to “save his life” after being “ambushed and attacked” by three immigrants with a snow shovel and broomstick during a “targeted traffic stop.”
Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, subject of the traffic stop, was injured after being shot in the leg. Another Venezuelan, Alfredo Aljorna, was also accused of attacking the police.
However, Minnesota U.S. Attorney Dan Rosen Thursday, charges were dropped against them.
McLaughlin did not respond to questions about whether the agency stood by its initial statement describing the officer’s behavior during the incident as self-defense.
From the beginning, eyewitness accounts have contradicted DHS’ statements regarding the Sosa-Celis shooting.
His partner, Indriany Mendoza Camacho, said Minnesota Public Radio last week, she was present the night of the shooting and Sosa-Celis was trying to separate the agent and the other Venezuelan so the two immigrants could enter a house.
“I was a witness, I saw everything and my partner never grabbed anything to hit him or anything like that,” she said.
The shooting occurred during Operation Metro Surge, an aggressive immigration crackdown that brought about 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota starting in December.
The Trump administration announced the end of Operation Metro Surge on Thursday. The operation led to the arrest of more than 4,000 undocumented immigrants, according to White House border official Tom Homan, and the killing of two American citizens, Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti.
These shootings are also being investigated by federal authorities.
An intern preliminary examination Customs and Border Protection’s investigation into Pretti’s death also contradicted the Trump administration’s initial account of his shooting.
