ICE Shot Man in Patterson Based on False Gang Allegations, Attorney Says

In a troubling case of law enforcement overreach, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers shot Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez during an arrest attempt near Interstate 5 in Patterson, California. ICE Director Todd Lyons justified the use of force by alleging Mendoza Hernandez was an 18th Street gang member who “weaponized his vehicle” to attack officers. He also claimed Mendoza Hernandez was wanted in El Salvador for questioning in a murder investigation.

But Mendoza Hernandez’s attorney, Patrick Kolasinski, is pushing back hard against these claims. At a press conference on Wednesday, Kolasinski presented a judicial document from El Salvador showing Mendoza Hernandez was acquitted of homicide charges in 2019. The attorney said the family insists Mendoza Hernandez was never involved in any gang activity. In the United States, the only record he has is a minor traffic violation.

Despite the shooting, Mendoza Hernandez was reportedly taken to a local hospital, but Kolasinski and the man’s fiancée have been denied access to see him. Hospital staff have provided no details beyond confirming he is in stable condition.

This incident raises serious questions about ICE’s use of faulty intelligence to justify violent encounters. Federal agents’ rush to label Mendoza Hernandez a dangerous gang member, despite evidence to the contrary, fits a broader pattern of aggressive immigration enforcement tactics that endanger lives and undermine due process.

With no independent verification of the El Salvador documents yet, the public deserves transparency from DHS and ICE about the evidence behind their actions. Until then, Mendoza Hernandez’s shooting stands as a stark example of the human cost of ICE’s militarized approach to immigration enforcement.