The two officers involved were involved in the January 14 shooting death of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Authorities are investigating whether the two men lied.
Trump administration ends Minnesota immigration operation
Border czar Tom Homan announced the end of Minnesota’s immigration operation after a deadly shooting sparked tensions and community backlash.
Federal authorities are investigating two ICE agents for allegedly lying about how a Venezuelan man was shot and killed in Minnesota in January.
On January 14, a U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement officer shot and killed Venezuelan immigrant Julio Cesar Sosascelis in Minneapolis. The Department of Homeland Security said when immigration officers tried to arrest Sosascelis during a traffic stop, he fled and officers shot and killed him.
The shooting received widespread attention at the time, with the Department of Homeland Security saying Sosascelis and another man used “shovels or broomsticks” to hit the officers.
“Today, I am pleased to see that ICE and the Department of Justice are publicly acknowledging and investigating false statements made by two ICE agents. These false statements had serious consequences for my client and his family,” Sosascelis’ attorney Robin M. Wolpert told USA TODAY. “The actions taken by ICE and the Department of Justice against these two ICE officers are welcome and will help begin to restore trust and confidence in federal law enforcement.”
ICE Director Todd Lyons said on Feb. 13 that the agency and the Justice Department had opened an investigation into whether the two officers involved in the shooting lied under oath about what happened because video evidence appeared to contradict their statements, according to a statement shared by the Department of Homeland Security.
“A joint review of video evidence by ICE and the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that sworn statements provided by two separate officers appear to have made false statements,” Lyons said in a statement. “Both officers were immediately placed on administrative leave pending the completion of a thorough internal investigation. … The United States Attorney’s Office is actively investigating these false statements.”
The Justice Department declined to comment.
DHS reliability is called into question
This case is the latest example of an immigration enforcement officer’s claims being proven unfounded.
Following the January 24 shooting death of Alex Preti, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem retracted her comments about the 37-year-old who was killed. She blamed Border Patrol for labeling Preeti a “domestic terrorist” and saying he brandished a gun.
Meanwhile, new body camera footage of a Border Patrol agent fatally shooting a U.S. citizen in Chicago has been released, contradicting the government’s story that she ambushed him and rammed him with her car. Charles Exum, the Border Patrol agent who shot the woman five times, has been placed on leave.
ICE made the decision to investigate its officers after the Department of Homeland Security announced it would reduce deployments to Minnesota. The department sent thousands of military personnel to Democratic-led states in response to misconduct by welfare program workers related to Somali immigrants.
Minnesotans complained that sending immigration authorities into the city amounted to an “invasion.” In January, federal agents shot and killed Minneapolis residents Alex Preti and Renee Good, sparking protests across the United States against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
Justice Department ends investigation into injured Venezuelan national
The agency’s move to open an investigation into the ICE officers involved in the shooting came after a federal judge on February 13 dismissed the case against Sosascelis and another man involved in the incident, Alfredo Alejando Ajorna.
U.S. District Judge Paul A. Magnuson dismissed the case at the request of prosecutors, according to a federal court filing. Magnuson dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning prosecutors cannot try to bring the same case against the two men.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota had sought to indict Mr. Sosascelis and Mr. Algiorna for assaulting a federal officer. According to a criminal complaint filed days after the shooting, Sosa-Celiz and Algiorna twirled their broomsticks back and forth, taking turns hitting one of the ICE agents before shooting Sosa-Celiz to death.
USA TODAY has asked prosecutors for comment on the move to dismiss the case.
Why did the prosecutor drop the case?
Federal court filings reveal some of the reasons why the U.S. attorney’s office moved to drop the case. USA TODAY has requested comment.
Daniel N. Rosen, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, explained his reasons for seeking dismissal of the case in a Feb. 12 court filing.
“Newly discovered evidence in this case materially contradicts the allegations in the complaint affidavit,” Rosen wrote, referring to the findings of the FBI investigation that initiated the case. “Therefore, the dismissal with prejudice is just.”
FBI agents said they based their findings on interviews and documents from “other law enforcement officers,” according to the affidavit.
FBI officials in Minnesota did not respond to requests for comment on the unreliable affidavit.
Venezuelan man ‘delighted’ lawsuit dropped
Algiorna’s attorney, Frederick J. Goetz, told USA TODAY that his client is “delighted.”
“He’s happy to leave this behind him,” Goetz said of Agiorna. “But he is shocked that he has been branded a criminal, a violent criminal…He is a good man who is trying to take care of his family.
Goetz, a defense attorney with 40 years of experience, called the move to dismiss with prejudice “unusual.” He praised the U.S. Attorney’s Office for doing the “right thing.”
“There’s been a lot of turmoil in that office lately,” he said. “But their respect for the rule of law remains intact.”
Who is an ICE officer?
Federal officials did not respond to questions about the names of the officers under investigation.
According to court filings detailing the Sosascelis shooting, the two men were part of ICE’s removal operations, a division of the agency focused on capturing immigrants for deportation.
The FBI said in a court filing that the two were among thousands of Homeland Security personnel sent to Minnesota from out of state. They were driving an unmarked vehicle the night of the incident, according to the affidavit. One officer was wearing a belt with a badge on it. The other person was wearing a bulletproof vest with the word “POLICE” written on it.
