The case against two Venezuelan men in Minneapolis is the latest to fall apart. Now agents could face repercussions, but questions linger over whether it signals a real shift
O
n 14 January, in the thick of Donald Trump’s massive anti-immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, two deportation officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attempted to stop a car in traffic.
They had identified the owner as an unauthorized immigrant, according to an FBI affidavit. The driver, later identified as Alfredo Aljorna, a Venezuelan national, sped off, hitting speeds of 80mph and eventually crashed into a parked car. He then took off running toward an apartment building where his roommate, Julio Sosa Celis, stood at the entrance holding a broad-bladed snow shovel.
In the agency’s telling, what ensued next was a violent altercation in which ICE agents said they were attacked, and eventually fired at Sosa Celis. Both men were later charged with assaulting a federal officer. But the prosecution crumbled weeks later, as the evidence to support the claims of a violent altercation fell apart.
