ICE and DHS Use-of-Force Incidents: A Pattern of Disputed Agency Accounts

Since mid-2025, multiple confrontations between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents and immigrants have resulted in shootings, arrests, and tear-gas deployments that the agencies have justified as self-defense or protection of public safety. Notable cases include the July 2026 shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican longtime U.S. resident, in Houston; the July 2026 killing of Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian, in Biddeford, Maine; the August 2025 pepper-spray, vehicle-damage, and three-day detention of George Retes, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen and Army veteran in California; the August 2025 gunfire directed at Francisco Longoria’s car in San Bernardino, California; the October 2025 shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago; and the January 2026 leg-shot of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during an ICE attempt to apprehend Alfredo Aljorna in Minneapolis. In each instance, ICE/DHS officials issued statements alleging that the subjects “weaponized” their vehicles or assaulted officers, while video recordings, journalist investigations, and later court findings have contradicted those narratives.

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The surge in aggressive enforcement follows former President Donald Trump’s “mass deportation” campaign, which expanded ICE’s operational scope and intensified scrutiny of its use-of-force protocols. Prior incidents—such as the 2025 deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis—have already been documented as involving false agency statements, establishing a precedent for the current pattern of disputed accounts.

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ICE and DHS repeatedly framed the incidents as defensive actions. Agency narratives asserted that Salgado Araujo and Guerrero “weaponized” their vehicles, that Retes “assaulted an officer,” that Longoria “struck two officers with his vehicle,” and that Martinez was “ambushed by domestic terrorists that rammed federal agents with their vehicles.” In the Minneapolis case, DHS claimed the suspects used a snow shovel to assault an agent before the officer fired.

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Investigative reporting by Mother Jones, ProPublica, and local journalists has produced video evidence contradicting agency claims, showing no vehicle ramming in the Longoria case and confirming that Martinez was struck by a CBP vehicle rather than the reverse. A federal judge described Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino’s deposition testimony as “outright lying,” and the Justice Department later dismissed charges against the Minneapolis suspects after ICE admitted false statements. These findings underscore a recurring discrepancy between official accounts and independent verification.

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• “Imagine being so desperate to demonize law enforcement you post a video from a burglary arrest Chicago Police made over a year ago,” — Tricia McLaughlin, DHS spokesperson

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• “It is horrific to see radical agitators bring children to their violent riots.” — DHS spokesperson (online post)

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• “ambushed by domestic terrorists that rammed federal agents with their vehicles” — DHS statement regarding Marimar Martinez

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• “DHS issued a statement saying he had assaulted an officer.” — DHS statement about George Retes

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• “DHS later said Longoria struck two officers with his vehicle and the officer had fired his gun in self-defense.” — DHS statement about Francisco Longoria

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Multiple lawsuits are pending against ICE and DHS for alleged false statements and excessive force. Federal courts continue to evaluate the credibility of agency testimony, and the Justice Department’s recent dismissal of charges in Minneapolis signals heightened judicial scrutiny of ICE’s use-of-force justifications.

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