Video Release Sparks Controversy Over ICE Shooting Incident in Minneapolis

Tue Apr 07 2026 12:32:12 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A newly released video from Minneapolis shows a chase and confrontation that led to a nonfatal shooting, prompting scrutiny of federal immigration officers involved in the incident.

The city of Minneapolis has released a video depicting a January incident involving federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, raising questions about the accuracy of their initial accounts. The video indicates a chase involving two Venezuelan men and an ICE officer, who shot one of the men during the altercation. With criminal charges against the men dropped, investigations into potential misconduct by ICE officers are ongoing.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The city of Minneapolis released a video Monday showing a chase and scuffle that ended in a nonfatal shooting in January and the suspensions of two federal officers involved in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

The video — from a city-owned security camera — captured part of the incident in which federal officers chased a Venezuelan man to his residence. Another Venezuelan man who lives there was shot during the confrontation. Federal authorities in February dropped all charges against the two immigrants and opened a criminal investigation into whether two immigration officers lied under oath about what had happened.

The city released the video after the New York Times, which obtained a copy earlier, indicated that the footage raised questions about why it took weeks for the federal government’s case against the two men to collapse. The Times reported that federal investigators had access to the video within hours of the Jan. 14 shooting but did not watch it until three weeks after charging the two men.

“The video 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,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey in a statement.

Federal authorities initially accused Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis of assaulting an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel. The officer reportedly fired a shot, hitting Sosa-Celis in the thigh. After the shooting, a crowd formed at the scene, leading to clashes with officers in riot gear.

The city did not provide a detailed narrative of the events depicted in the video, but it confirmed the video was “related” to the shooting incident.

Both Aljorna and Sosa-Celis are free while pursuing legal status, having been ordered released from custody earlier before ICE detained them again for alleged immigration violations.

In light of these events, state and county prosecutors have expressed frustration over the federal government's withholding of information regarding the incident and other related shootings involving ICE officers.