1. United States
2. Ind.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to demand thorough, independent investigations into recent allegations of brutality by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, particularly the shooting incidents in Minneapolis this month. On Wednesday, an ICE agent shot Venezuelan national Julio Sosa-Celis in the leg during a raid at his home. The Department of Homeland Security claimed Sosa-Celis violently assaulted officers and struck an agent with a shovel or broomstick, prompting defensive gunfire. However, newly obtained videos and witness testimony directly contradict this official account. In a hospital Facebook livestream, Sosa-Celis stated that ICE had been chasing his cousin Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, not him. He claims he was closing and locking his front door when the ICE agent shot him through the closed door from outside. His partner's video call to family members corroborates this, stating that agents were chasing Alfredo, who jumped from his car and ran, and that they shot Julio after he opened the door. Mabel Aljorna, Alfredo's mother, confirmed her son was the one being pursued and that Sosa-Celis was already inside when shot. This incident occurred just one week after another ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, a mother of three, in her vehicle in Minneapolis. Two shootings by immigration agents in one city within seven days demands congressional scrutiny. When federal law enforcement accounts conflict sharply with video evidence and multiple witness statements, independent investigation is essential to maintain public trust and accountability. The discrepancies in this case are not minor details but fundamental facts about whether the shooting victim was even the target of the operation and whether he posed any threat when shot. I urge you to call for independent investigations into all allegations of excessive force by ICE and Border Patrol agents, with particular attention to the Minneapolis incidents. Federal agents must be held to the same standards of accountability as all law enforcement.