Two immigration agents were suspended amid an investigation for apparently making false statements about an incident in Minneapolis, described as a violent attack, in which a Venezuelan man was shot in the leg last month.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons said in a statement that the two agents have been placed on administrative leave pending the completion of “a thorough investigation” into the Jan. 14 incident.
ICE agents suspended after shot of Venezuelan man
Your “Minneapolis man” is a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela.
Fixed your headline for you as well, @BBCWorld. https://t.co/IblFCbDgmw pic.twitter.com/WtLsg2Dz5H
– U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) January 15, 2026
ICE agents charged Venezuelans Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, 24, and Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna, 26, for allegedly assaulting an agent during a chaotic arrest in Minneapolis in the midst of an aggressive raid in that city.
One of the suspended agents shot Sosa-Celis because he allegedly assaulted him with a shovel or broomstick, causing injuries that forced him to seek hospital care, according to the initial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) account.
Federal authorities described the incident as an “attempted murder of a federal agent,” stating that he was ambushed and beaten, before he fired a defensive shot that struck Sosa-Celis in the leg.
The two Venezuelans were indicted on federal charges, but on Thursday the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped the indictment on the grounds of new evidence.
Lyons said the investigation of the video evidence revealed that the two agents “appear to have made false statements” in sworn testimony about what happened, a crime punishable by law.
Both ICE and DHS have come under public scrutiny for the violent immigration raids in Minneapolis that resulted in the deaths of two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
This week Border Czar Tom Homan announced that the immigration raids had ended and that the agents sent to that city would be leaving.
DHS and its agencies, including ICE, are on the verge of running out of funding after the Democratic minority has demanded that they regulate operations and hold agents who have abused their power accountable.
Critics have also called for the dismissal of Secretary Kristi Noem, who used the incident to publicize the danger faced by agents in immigration operations.
Noem was asked Friday by reporters at a conference in Phoenix, Arizona, whether she would remain head of the department: “If I’m still in charge of DHS,” she replied.
Filed under: ICE agents suspended Venezuelan shot
With information from EFE
