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 was shot in the leg last month. The acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 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 January 14 incident. ICE agents accused Venezuelan Julio César Sosa-Celis, 24, and Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna, 26, of assaulting an agent during a chaotic detention in Minneapolis amid the aggressive operation carried out in that city. One of the suspended agents shot Sosa-Celis because he allegedly attacked him with a shovel or broom handle, causing injuries that required hospital treatment, according to the initial account from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Federal authorities described the incident as an 'attempted murder of a federal agent,' claiming he was ambushed and beaten before he fired a defensive shot that hit Sosa-Celis in the leg. The two Venezuelans were charged with federal crimes, but this Thursday the U.S. Department of Justice dropped the charges under the argument of new evidence. Lyons indicated that the investigation of 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 been under public scrutiny for the violence of immigration raids in Minneapolis that resulted in the deaths of two Americans, Renée Good and Alex Pretti. This week, the border czar Tom Homan announced that the immigration raids had concluded and that the agents sent to that city would be leaving. You may be interested|Do Americans believe Bad Bunny represents them better than Trump? Critics have also called for the ouster of Secretary Kristi Noem, who used the incident to publicize the danger agents face during immigration operations. Noem was questioned by reporters on Friday at a conference in Phoenix (Arizona) if she would continue to lead the department: 'If I am still in charge of DHS,' she replied.
