The ICE Agent Shot a Man, Then Lied?

Trump’s deportation surge into Minneapolis is looking worse all the time.

President Trump’s deportation blitz in Minneapolis last winter, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, was a political disaster that’s getting worse. Federal prosecutors now have accused an ICE agent in January of shooting through the front door of a home with two toddlers inside, hitting a migrant in the leg, and then lying about it to the FBI.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent looks on as an individual is detained outside a home in Danbury, Connecticut, U.S., August 27, 2026. (REUTERS FILE)

The indictment, unsealed Friday, says ICE officer Christian Castro was pursuing a 26-year-old Venezuelan man, who ran after being pulled over. As Mr. Castro tried to arrest him in a yard, a 24-year-old Venezuelan man came to aid the escape. After “physical interaction” of “approximately eleven seconds,” the two migrants hurried into the house, the filing says. “CASTRO stood up, drew his service weapon, and fired a single shot through the front door.”

The second migrant was hit in the leg. Also home were their two girlfriends and two 1-year-old children. The bullet ended up “lodged in the wall of the downstairs apartment,” says the federal indictment.

Mr. Castro’s version was markedly different. Federal prosecutors say he told the FBI that two unknown men attacked him with a broom and snow shovel. He said he spent three minutes fighting on the ground, before he reached for his gun and fired as the assailants ran.

None of this is true, says the indictment for six counts of making false statements: “No third person was involved, and no person struck CASTRO with a snow shovel.” “No person struck CASTRO with a broom.” “CASTRO was not seated or lying on his back when he discharged his firearm toward the fleeing men.”

Mr. Castro is scheduled to appear in federal court next week. “We absolutely dispute the narrative that’s been put out there,” his lawyer told the press, “and we maintain our client’s innocence.” He also faces state charges, including for assault with a dangerous weapon.

The state’s complaint says both Venezuelan men “were residing in Minnesota lawfully, having been granted ‘Temporary Protected Status,’” or TPS. The first migrant was working for DoorDash when ICE agents in an unmarked vehicle checked his license plate, determined the listed owner wasn’t a citizen, and began pursuit. As he fled the officers, he alerted his friends at home, who called 911.

That’s when Minneapolis police “took remote-control of a city camera” and turned it at the house. The state’s filing says it captured a “brief struggle,” then Mr. Castro standing “several feet from the front door” and firing.

Without this footage, what would the public know? It’s hard to say, though within hours then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed the ICE agent fired in self-defense. “What we saw last night in Minneapolis was an attempted murder of federal law enforcement,” she said. “Our officer was ambushed.”

The feds quickly charged the two Venezuelan men, with an affidavit citing Mr. Castro’s account. “He felt the broom stick hitting him in his face,” it said. A month later, prosecutors dropped the case. “Newly discovered evidence,” the U.S. Attorney’s office wrote, “is materially inconsistent with the allegations.”

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What a mess. Even today, the story is fragmentary. Soon after the shooting, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed the DoorDash driver was subject to a final deportation order. Yet this is the same news release that Ms. Noem used to accuse the men of attempted murder. DHS didn’t reply to requests for clarification on their status. The man’s attorney declined to comment.

The abandoned federal case alleged that the delivery driver fled ICE at speeds up to 80 mph and ignored “multiple” stop signs, which is a public danger if true. Yet despite the Administration’s claims that it was going after the worst of the worst, the Minneapolis surge apparently had ICE agents “running publicly visible license plates,” producing a random high-risk car chase of a DoorDash worker.

U.S. immigration laws need to be enforced, and most federal agents are patriots hoping to do it with integrity. The allegations against Mr. Castro aren’t cause to “abolish ICE,” or else jailing any corrupt local cop would mean shutting down the police department. The Castro indictment is nonetheless important accountability and deterrence for ICE excesses.

Mr. Trump fired Ms. Noem months ago, but his approval rating on immigration remains 10 points negative. It’s a stunning reversal, since voters in 2024 elected him in large part to clean up the wreck of President Biden’s border nonfeasance. What the broad public wants is order, not spectacle and chaotic “mass deportation” of law-abiding workers who are roofing houses or dropping off dinners. Failing to understand this is how the White House turned a winning political issue into a loser.