US officials investigate whether ICE agents lied about Minneapolis shooting | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation into whether two immigration agents lied under oath about a shooting in Minneapolis last month, with all charges against two Venezuelans dropped.

ICE Director Todd Lyons said Friday that his agency opened a joint investigation with the Justice Department after video evidence revealed that “sworn testimony provided by two separate agents appears to have made false statements” about the shooting of one of the Venezuelan men during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis area.

The officers, who have not been named, are on administrative leave while the investigation is conducted, he said. Lyons said the two ICE agents could be fired and face criminal charges.

“It is a serious federal offense to lie under oath,” Lyons said, adding that the U.S. Attorney’s Office is actively investigating.

“The men and women of ICE are responsible for upholding the rule of law and are held to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and ethical conduct,” Lyons said.

“Violations of this sacred oath will not be tolerated. ICE remains fully committed to transparency, accountability, and fair enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws.”

Earlier Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Paul A Magnuson dismissed felony assault charges against Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, accused of beating an ICE officer with a broomstick and snow shovel during a fight in January. The officer fired a single shot from his handgun, hitting Sosa-Celis in the right thigh.

The charges were dropped after a highly unusual request for dismissal from US Attorney for the District of Minnesota Daniel N Rosen, who said the “newly discovered evidence” was “materially inconsistent with the allegations” made against the two men in a criminal complaint and at a hearing last month.

The reversal follows a series of high-profile shootings involving federal immigration agents in which eyewitness statements and video evidence have called into question the allegations made to justify the use of deadly force. Dozens of criminal cases against protesters accused of assaulting or obstructing federal agents also collapsed.

The immigration lawyer representing Aljorna and Sosa-Celis said he was “delighted” that all charges were dropped. Had they been convicted, both immigrants would have been sentenced to years in federal prison.

“The charges against them were based on the lies of an ICE agent who recklessly shot into their home through a closed door,” said attorney Brian D Clark. “They are so happy that justice has been served. »

It is not yet known whether these men could still be deported.

Last month, an FBI investigator said in a now-discredited affidavit that ICE agents attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Aljorna on Jan. 14. He hit the vehicle and fled on foot towards the duplex where he lived. An immigration agent pursued Aljorna, who the government said violently resisted arrest.

The complaint alleged that Sosa-Celis and another man attacked the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle while the officer and Aljorna struggled on the ground. The officer, who is not named in the court filing, fired his handgun, striking Sosa-Celis. The men rushed into an apartment and were eventually arrested.

After the shooting, Kristi Noem attacked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, accusing Democrats of “encouraging obstruction and aggression against our law enforcement, which is a federal crime, a felony.”

“What we saw last night in Minneapolis was attempted murder against federal law enforcement,” Noem said in a Jan. 15 statement. “Our officer was ambushed and attacked by three individuals who struck him with snow shovels and broom handles. Fearing for his life, the officer fired a defensive shot.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond Friday to questions about whether Noem stood by these statements, which ICE — part of DHS — now admits were false.

Robin M Wolpert, Sosa-Celis’ defense attorney in the criminal case, said she was pleased that ICE and the Department of Justice are publicly acknowledging and investigating the false statements made by the two ICE agents.

“These false statements have had serious consequences for my client and his family,” Wolpert said. “My client is a victim of a crime.”