Two US immigration enforcement officers are now under federal investigation after it was revealed that they seem to have lied about the circumstances that led up to the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant last month.
As reported by Politico on Friday, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons acknowledged that two federal officers appear “to have made untruthful statements” about a confrontation in Minneapolis in January that culminated in one of the officers shooting Venezuelan national Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg.
The officers claimed that Sosa-Celis and another Venezuelan immigrant, Alfredo Aljorna, assaulted them with a broom and a shovel, which forced one of the officers to open fire in self-defense.
While the two men had been charged with assaulting the officers in the wake of the shooting, charges against them were abruptly dismissed on Thursday when prosecutors revealed that “newly discovered evidence in this matter is materially inconsistent with the allegations” made under oath by the officers.
Lyons said that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is now investigating the two officers, who have been placed on administrative leave until the probe concludes.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last month defended the officers and parroted their claims about the shooting.
“What we saw last night in Minneapolis was an attempted murder of federal law enforcement,” Noem claimed. “Our officer was ambushed and attacked by three individuals who beat him with snow shovels and the handles of brooms. Fearing for his life, the officer fired a defensive shot.”
Noem has come under fire in recent weeks for lying about shootings involving federal immigration officials, such as when she falsely claimed that slain Minneapolis intensive care nurse Alex Pretti was aiming “to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement” while filming officers’ activities.
In reality, video footage showed Pretti never drew his handgun during his deadly confrontation with federal immigration officers, while also clearly showing that officers disarmed him before they opened fire.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said that the newly uncovered evidence in Sosa-Celis’ case showed that the officer not only didn’t discharge his weapon in self-defense, but he “fired his gun through a closed door, striking the people inside.”
The Minnesota House of Representatives Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Caucus accused federal immigration agents of systematically lying to cover up unjustified shootings.
“They’re hiding evidence, stifling investigations, and fabricating information,” wrote the Minnesota House DFL on social media. “They’re lying to your face. We won’t let them get away with it—Minnesotans deserve justice.”
US Rep. Rob Menedez (D-NJ) said that lying appears to be endemic in the entire Trump administration.
“The Trump administration has consistently lied about ICE’s violent acts toward Americans and the abuses that this agency perpetuates every day,” he wrote. “They aren’t afraid to lie about members of Congress, and they certainly aren’t afraid to lie about any American they have killed, shot, or assaulted. This agency cannot continue to exist.”