This browser does not support the Video element.
ICE agents accused of lying under oath
Two ICE agents are accused of lying during court proceedings about the shooting that left a Venezuelan man injured in North Minneapolis last month. FOX 9 Investigator Nathan O'Neal has the story.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Department of Justice is investigating whether two ICE agents lied during court proceedings about the shooting that left a Venezuelan man injured in North Minneapolis last month.
ICE officers put on leave pending investigation
What we know:
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has opened a criminal probe into two ICE officers after video evidence revealed the agents’ sworn testimony included "untruthful statements."
"Lying under oath is a serious federal offense," said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "Violations of this sacred sworn oath will not be tolerated."
New evidence ‘materially inconsistent’ with the allegations
The backstory:
ICE agents initially accused Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Sosa-Celis of assaulting them with a shovel or broom following an immigration enforcement operation in North Minneapolis on January 14.
An unidentified ICE agent shot Sosa-Celis in the leg and the Department of Homeland Security described it as a "defensive" shooting.
Federal prosecutors later charged the men with aiding and abetting as well as assaulting a federal officer.
Nearly a month later, the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota filed to dismiss the charges because newly discovered evidence, which included surveillance video, is "materially inconsistent with the allegations."
"The prosecutors office did the right thing," said Aljorna’s defense attorney Fred Goetz. "They realized the evidence was completely different than what the agent claimed it was."
Most cases involving assault of ICE officers are dropped, dismissed
Dig deeper:
The Trump administration has repeated claims that its immigration officers are under attack.
While there have been some documented cases of injuries to federal immigration officers, most of the criminal cases brought by DHS have unraveled.
The FOX 9 Investigators reviewed more than 100 cases involving the assault of a federal officers, which revealed in a majority of cases, federal prosecutors either declined to file charges, later dismissed them due to "insufficient evidence" or failed to convince a grand jury that a crime was committed.
"When somebody other than the agents has to look at evidence and decide whether an assault happened, in the vast majority of situations, they’re deciding, no, there’s no evidence of an assault," said Rachel Moran, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas.
In one case, a federal judge in Chicago wrote that the government "swung and missed — multiple times."
Calls for accountability of ICE agents
What's next:
The defense attorneys representing Aljorna and Sosa-Celis call the dismissal of their criminal charges "extraordinary."
A statement provided to FOX 9 on behalf of the families urged accountability and called for the ICE agents involved to be charged.
"The charges against them were based on lies by an ICE agent who reckless shot into their home through a closed door," the statement said.
A spokesperson for the DOJ said the ICE officers may face termination as well as potential criminal prosecution pending the outcome of the investigation.