A federal judge said two Venezuelan men accused of assaulting a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in north Minneapolis could walk free on Tuesday. ICE apparently had other plans. Within minutes of the ruling, agents took Alfredo Aljorna and Julio Sosa-Celis back into custody inside the courthouse, according to their attorneys, triggering an emergency legal scramble and fresh questions about who actually calls the shots when a federal judge orders someone released.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson had rejected the government's bid to keep the men locked up and signed off on conditional release, including GPS monitoring for one defendant and a requirement that both stay in Minnesota, according to The Associated Press. Defense attorneys say ICE moved in almost immediately, re-arresting the men in the St. Paul federal courthouse and offering no explanation to families or lawyers, who quickly filed an emergency habeas petition challenging the new detentions.
Bullet hole and ballistics evidence
At the same hearing, defense lawyers showed photographs they say cut against the official story of how the shooting unfolded. The images depict what appears to be a bullet hole through the front door of the duplex and a fragment lodged in a bedroom wall near a portable crib, evidence the defense argues undermines the government's account of when the ICE officer opened fire.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension later recovered a bullet and a fragment and opened a use-of-force investigation, but state investigators say they have not been allowed to interview the federal agent involved, according to the Star Tribune.
Federal court filings reviewed by local outlets suggest the confrontation may have started with a case of mistaken identity during a traffic stop, and an FBI affidavit states the man who was shot was not the original target of the enforcement action. The Department of Homeland Security disputes that interpretation and characterizes the episode as an assault on a federal agent, as reported by Bring Me The News. The two defendants and their partners are Venezuelan nationals who lived on the duplex's top floor. Attorneys said the partners were moved to a Texas facility, and the toddlers were returned to relatives in Minnesota.
Court orders and legal fight
Family attorneys responded to the surprise re-detentions with an emergency habeas petition, calling the new custody unconstitutional and arguing that ICE had effectively ignored the judge's release order, according to the Star Tribune. Minnesota's chief federal judge, Patrick J. Schiltz, then stepped in with an order blocking the Department of Homeland Security from removing the men from the state and giving the government until Friday to justify the detentions.
Defense lawyers say they plan to push for the men's immediate release and to force disclosure of the evidence that federal officials say backs up the assault allegations, including whether the ICE agent had a body camera rolling during the incident.
Why this matters
The tug-of-war in federal court is unfolding against a backdrop of protests and growing anger over a federal enforcement surge in the Twin Cities, following several recent deadly or highly controversial shootings by federal agents. Those incidents have ratcheted up tension across Minneapolis and the rest of the state, according to The Associated Press.
Civil-rights attorneys and local officials say the decision to re-detain the men right after a judge ordered them released raises urgent questions about how ICE coordinates custody decisions and what kind of oversight exists for federal agents operating in Minneapolis. The government has until Friday to explain its actions in court, and attorneys for Aljorna and Sosa-Celis say they are ready to seek more aggressive relief if ICE does not comply.
For now, the case has become a flashpoint in a city already on edge over federal immigration operations and unresolved investigations into the use of force.
