Minneapolis Video Exposes ICE Lies About Migrant Shooting

Federal Agents Lied About Shooting, Video Reveals

Minneapolis has released surveillance footage that demolishes Immigration and Customs Enforcement's official story about shooting a Venezuelan migrant in the leg during a January arrest operation.

The Department of Homeland Security initially claimed an officer fired in self-defense after being "ambushed" and attacked with a shovel and broom handle by three men. That account, used to justify criminal charges against two migrants, was a lie.

City-owned camera footage shows the shovel being tossed aside before any physical contact occurred between the men and ICE agents. The video depicts a brief struggle on the ground involving three people, not the violent ambush federal officials described. One of the men, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, was shot in the leg during the encounter.

Charges Dropped After Agents Caught Lying

Federal prosecutors dropped assault charges against Sosa-Celis and Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna in February after ICE officials admitted two agents appeared to have made false statements about the incident.

The timing raises disturbing questions about federal law enforcement integrity. According to the New York Times, investigators had access to the surveillance video within hours of the shooting but didn't bother watching it until nearly three weeks after charging the two migrants with forcibly assaulting federal officers.

The original DHS statement claimed the officer fired "defensive shots" while "fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals." The video shows no such ambush.

Part of a Deadly Pattern

The January 14 shooting became one flashpoint in a series of violent ICE operations in Minneapolis that left two American citizens dead and sparked widespread protests against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics.

Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both US citizens, were fatally shot during separate ICE operations as part of "Operation Metro Surge," the administration's targeted crackdown on sanctuary cities.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the newly released footage "makes it crystal clear that, just like in other situations during Operation Metro Surge, the federal government's account of what happened simply does not match the facts."

No Accountability for Lying Agents

The officers involved in the shooting have not been publicly named. They remain on administrative leave while an internal investigation proceeds at whatever glacial pace ICE deems appropriate. A criminal investigation is also supposedly underway.

The city released the grainy, distance-shot footage on Monday without additional comment, saying only that it "has no additional information and will not be making further comments at this time."

That ICE agents would lie about the circumstances of a shooting is troubling enough. That federal prosecutors would file criminal charges against migrants without reviewing available video evidence suggests either incompetence or willful disregard for the truth.

Either way, two men faced serious federal charges based on false statements by law enforcement officers who knew surveillance cameras had captured the entire incident.

The video's release comes as the Trump administration continues ramping up immigration enforcement in cities that have resisted cooperation with ICE. When federal agents operate with this level of impunity and dishonesty, the results are predictable: false arrests, unjust prosecutions, and a growing body count that includes American citizens.