Media breathlessly reports on 'new' ICE traffic stop rules — then ICE tosses cold water on its narrative



Media reports on the death of prior traffic stop rules for immigration operations are greatly exaggerated, according to the feds.

Many in the media rushed to report on a memo outlining traffic stop rules in order to imply that the administration is reacting to criticism by weakening engagement standards.

'This memo makes no changes to how ICE conducts vehicle stops. ALL officers have always received vehicle stop training.'

The memo indicated that there were no circumstances where officers would be "authorized to engage in vehicle pursuits or [precision immobilization technique] maneuvers" against vehicles with drivers who refuse to pull over.

"ICE issues new instructions on vehicle stops after shootings, new guidance shows," said a CNN headline Thursday.

"New ICE guidance bans high-speed car chases and sets tighter rules for traffic stops, a memo obtained by the AP shows," was the headline at the Associated Press.

"ICE Forced to Rein In Two Controversial Tactics Within 24 Hours," blared out Newsweek.

When a spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement was asked to comment on the "new" rules, they said there was "nothing new" in the memo.

"Occasionally, ICE leadership issues guidance reminders to law enforcement officers," read the spokesperson's statement to ABC News. "This memo makes no changes to how ICE conducts vehicle stops. ALL officers have always received vehicle stop training."

The spokesperson added, "Vehicle stops and arrests of illegal aliens continue."

RELATED: Illegal alien bites 3-year-old's face in horrifying random attack — DHS blames Biden policies

The latest controversial shooting involved a migrant named Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, who was DoorDashing in Austin, Texas.

Perez initially complied with immigration officers' demands on September 20 but then allegedly fled in his car and also allegedly clipped an officer with the side mirror on his car. After a car chase, an officer shot him in the back.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

AOC’s latest ICE rant sounds like a campaign launch



Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s recent speech demonizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement not only infuriates the “Pat Gray Unleashed" panel, it makes them think the democratic socialist is gearing up for a presidential run.

On September 27 during More Perfect University’s “Students vs. Billionaires” series, AOC compared ICE to a black-box surveillance stack.

“ICE is an agency that has not even existed for as long as many of us have even been alive. They are a new agency created in the surveillance state establishment after 9/11,” she said. “ICE is Palantir; ICE is AI; ICE is facial recognition; ICE is surveillance — and ICE is coming after you regardless of your status.”

Pat is incensed at her calling ICE a new agency.

“They’re 25 years old — 25!” he exclaims. “That's a new agency? ... Compared to what? The fall of Rome?”

“She's also trying to pin this on Trump for starting ICE. That's what they desperately want to do,” he adds.

But it’s the progressive's comparison of ICE to Palantir, AI, facial recognition, and surveillance that really ticks him off.

“Wow, is that irresponsible,” he sighs. “It's just a flat-out communist lie. ... This is what gets people killed.”

“How she's saying it just made me think she's running for higher [office],” adds co-host Jeffy. “She’s not screeching about it.”

Pat agrees, mocking, “This darn Donald Trump and his new agencies.”

To hear more of the panel’s commentary and see the clip of AOC’s speech, watch the video above.

Want more from Pat Gray?

To enjoy more of Pat's biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

DOJ hilariously MOCKS Newsom after he signs bills to restrict ICE operations in California



California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom is getting mocked by a U.S. attorney after he signed new orders intended to restrict federal immigration operations in his state.

Newsom has tried to position himself as the foremost opponent to the Trump administration in an attempt to bolster his image ahead of a possible presidential run in 2028.

'Governor, we’ve been through this already. If you want to regulate federal agents, you have to win a federal election.'

Newsom's press office said Tuesday that he issued new restrictions on "flash-bang grenades and explosive breaching charges" that included their use in immigration enforcement.

First Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli responded with ridicule.

"Or what? You’re going to write us a ticket," he replied on social media.

The governor also touted 21 bills he signed to "protect Californians from Trump’s Orwellian immigration tactics."

Essayli responded again with mockery.

"Governor, we’ve been through this already. If you want to regulate federal agents, you have to win a federal election," he wrote.

"Until then, you have no jurisdiction," Essayli added. "Accordingly, I have advised DHS to disregard your bill attempting to ban safe and effective less-lethal tools that agents need to escalate dangerous situations."

Among the steps Newsom took was a restriction on shock gloves approved for use by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and also a 25% tax on private detention centers he claimed was the first of its kind in the nation.

RELATED: DHS has a fiery message for Newsom after he bans masks for ICE: 'We will NOT comply!'

The governor has also expanded public access to detention centers in an attempt to increase transparency and increase "health, safety, and oversight requirements" for civil detention facilities.

The governor has admitted that he's considering running for president but said he would bow out if Kamala Harris ran again.

"Why would I? I wouldn’t do that to her. I wouldn’t do that to you; I wouldn’t waste everyone’s time," said Newsom to Jake Tapper. "Who needs that?"

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Bodycam video captures DoorDashing 'illegal alien' clipping officer who shot afterward, DOJ says



A federal criminal complaint alleges that a DoorDash driver who is said to be in the U.S. illegally struck an immigration officer with his vehicle’s side mirror as he fled a traffic stop — an encounter that ended with him being shot.

The shooting of 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez has led to outrage and protests from critics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The other officer who was wearing a body camera caught up to the scene only after the shooting had occurred.

The complaint claims bodycam video from the Sept. 20 incident in Austin, Texas, shows Perez clipping an officer with the side mirror of his vehicle when he tries to flee from the traffic stop.

The complaint says the law enforcement operation began when immigration officers saw Perez parked with his hazard lights on and discovered through a database check that he had an active deportation order.

The initial interaction was described as "pleasant and not aggressive" in the complaint.

Perez asked officers to allow him to wait for his wife to arrive to retrieve his vehicle, but they refused, which led him to "abruptly" close the window and hit the gas, the complaint claimed.

One of the officers was struck on his torso by the side mirror as the man fled, the complaint also claimed.

Perez allegedly led them on a car chase for about eight minutes before he was shot by an officer who was not wearing a body camera, the complaint continued. The other officer who was wearing a body camera caught up to the scene only after the shooting occurred.

Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, an attorney for Perez, previously said that he was seeking asylum and had a valid work permit. She added that he was ordered to be deported because a notice to appear in immigration court had been sent to his previous address and he missed the hearing.

The DHS responded that his work permit had expired in 2025 and added that a work permit did not confer any legal status on immigrants. The Department of Homeland Security had previously described Perez as an "illegal alien from Venezuela, who illegally entered our country under the Biden administration and had a final order of removal."

In court on Tuesday, Lincoln-Goldfinch claimed that Perez remains in "extremely bad medical condition" after the gunshot wound and has been asking for surgery to remove the bullet, the AP reported.

Lincoln-Goldfinch did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News about the allegations in the complaint.

RELATED: DHS Sec. Mullin CRUSHES 'open borders' Democrat pushing 'radical' anti-ICE bill

Perez was charged with one count of assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer. If he's convicted of the charge, Perez faces up to 20 years in prison.

He alleges that officers crashed into his car and caused it to spin before he was shot in the back. Perez was taken into custody after receiving treatment at a hospital.

The complaint included still-frames from police footage of the incident, but the bodycam footage was not released.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Are America's jails being run by foreigners?



Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained yet another Cumberland County, Maine, corrections officer.

Dannick Massamba-Bankela, who was detained on Tuesday, is the fifth noncitizen Cumberland County corrections officer detained by ICE since April 2025, highlighting a controversial hiring pattern in the jurisdiction. Previous arrests generated tension between Sheriff Kevin Joyce and the ICE office in Scarborough, Maine.

'Illegal aliens have no place in our communities, especially in positions of law enforcement.'

Massamba-Bankela, who migrated from the Republic of the Congo, was ordered to report to Scarborough's ICE processing facility on September 19. Protesters, who gather daily across the street from the ICE building, showered the detainee with support.

"It's not his fault that the U.S. government delays forever in scheduling these asylum interviews," Massamba-Bankela's lawyer, Christina Corbaci, told Maine Public. "So what is a person supposed to do? He's putting down ties. He's moving forward with his life. He's integrating into the community exactly like we ask immigrants to do, fully."

As of Monday, Massamba-Bankela is being held at Wyatt Detention Center in Rhode Island, according to ICE's detainee locator. The Congolese national was previously held at Massachusetts' Plymouth County Correctional Facility, according to the Maine Wire.

The five detained corrections officers in Cumberland County hailed either from the Congo or Angola. Some entered the U.S. on tourist or student visas before claiming asylum. At least one, Angolan national Emanuel Ludovic Mbuangi Landila, illegally entered the country via the southern border in 2019, the Bangor Daily News reported, citing the Department of Homeland Security.

Sheriff Joyce claimed that the four officers detained prior to Massamba-Bankela displayed work authorization sufficient for their employment with Cumberland County. Massamba-Bankela's lawyer told Maine Public that her client also possessed valid work authorization.

Work authorization does not override a visa overstay or legalize an alien's presence in the country, according to ICE.

RELATED: Retiree radicalism: Behind the scenes with Maine's anti-ICE activists

Benjamin Roberts/Blaze Media

The ICE facility in Scarborough is not a detention center. At least two of the affected corrections officers were processed by agents there and either transferred to permanent custody elsewhere or, in the case of illegal entrant Landila, released on bond.

Landila was detained on January 21, released on bond in February, and ultimately returned to his training program by April, according to the Portland Press Herald. He remains subject to removal pending a final asylum decision.

All five of the detained men were hired by Democrat Sheriff Kevin Joyce, who first took office in 2010. He is running for re-election.

“I guess if you’re not the card-carrying, you know, U.S. citizen, then you must be illegal. Because that’s what they told me is he’s illegal — and he’s definitely not a criminal," Joyce said in January after Landila's arrest. "So what part of him is illegal? I don’t know.”

"This was a show of force, a show of whatever they were trying to do with seven people," Joyce said.

The Maine Criminal Justice Academy dropped English reading and writing tests as a requirement for certification in 2024, shortly before the county's spate of noncitizen hiring.

After that requirement was cut, Joyce claimed to have hired over 20 immigrants as corrections officers in just one year.

RELATED: Mexican national accused of sexually assaulting woman on Mackinac Island

Getty Images

Though the county doesn't sponsor visas, it also doesn't screen for citizenship or legal status. The job posting states that applicants must be "authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S.," but doesn't inquire about green cards, an applicant's right to remain in the country, or pending asylum/immigration decisions.

The Cumberland County jail faced a severe staffing shortage prior to its noncitizen hiring spree.

"Under President Trump and Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin, ICE is restoring law and order. Illegal aliens have no place in our communities, especially in positions of law enforcement," a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Blaze News. "Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App."

Maine isn't the only state that allows noncitizens to serve in the prison system. Texas employs about 1,600 foreign nationals in its prison system, according to the Houston Chronicle.

"The United States is offering illegal aliens $3,000 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right, legal way to live the American dream," the DHS said. "If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”

Cumberland County, the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, and Massamba-Bankela's legal representative did not respond to requests for comment.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Cattle industry groups issue WARNING about beef prices over ICE operations in Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma



A group of cattle industry organizations said that federal immigration operations could interfere with the beef supply and push prices even higher.

The joint statement from cattle industry groups in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas said they were closely monitoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities in their states.

'These ICE operations are having a massive chilling effect on the legal, documented, skilled workers that put beef on the table and keep the cattle supply chain moving.'

"Our organizations respect the responsibility of federal agencies to enforce the law. At the same time, cattle producers, feedyards, dairies, livestock markets, processors, and other rural businesses depend on a stable workforce to care for animals, protect food safety, and keep the supply chains operating," read the joint statement.

"Sudden workforce disruptions can create immediate animal-welfare, operational, and economic consequences that extend well beyond an individual business," they added. "These ICE operations are having a massive chilling effect on the legal, documented, skilled workers that put beef on the table and keep the cattle supply chain moving."

The groups said the disruptions will lead to higher beef prices for consumers.

"These disruptions come at a time of enhanced focus and pressure on the cattle and beef supply chain," they continued. "They are a costly and unnecessary impact to cattle producers already suffering from unwelcome political interference to both the markets as well as the physical supply chain. Frustratingly, the harm these actions cause to cattle producers last for days and weeks after such operations conclude."

The statement called on federal authorities to respect due process and conduct enforcement operations in a lawful and orderly manner.

Beef prices are already historically high after cattle production in the U.S. dropped over the past few years. The price of a pound of beef has risen about 37.8% from 2013 through 2026.

The groups claimed that immigration operations had already resulted in millions of dollars in lost revenue and added cost for the cattle industry.

RELATED: Trump plans to SLASH regulations to ease beef prices after Glenn Beck's impassioned plea

.@POTUS tells me he will look into SLASHING harmful regulations in the beef industry that lead to high prices. I know firsthand how rigged the system is against independent American farmers. Four massive corporations control almost the entire meat processing industry. If… pic.twitter.com/xxNBrhWUI4
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) August 26, 2026

President Donald Trump said to Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck on his radio program in August that he would seek to deregulate meat processing rules in order to increase the beef supply.

"I know firsthand how rigged the system is against independent American farmers," said Beck about the interview with Trump. "Four massive corporations control almost the entire meat processing industry. If President Trump can cut these regulations, it would be a HUGE WIN."

Like Blaze News? Circumvent the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Democrat pushes bill to dismantle DHS, abolish ICE, and send funding to promote 'collective safety'



While many on the left have campaigned in the past on abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Democratic Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois says she's putting forward legislation to do that and more.

Ramirez said Wednesday that the legislation would abolish ICE and send its funding to a left-wing community safety program.

The new department would focus on humanity rather than 'surveillance' and 'terrorizing people,' Ramirez said.

She introduced the Reimagining Safety Act at a news conference in Chicago, where she said funding for ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security should be rerouted to programs that "working families rely on."

Ramirez was joined by various politicians, immigration rights activists, and community organizers at the conference.

The bill would create a "new human- and community-centered federal department" that would promote "collective safety." The new department would also focus on humanity rather than "surveillance" and "terrorizing people," Ramirez said in an interview with WFLD-TV.

Calls against ICE and the DHS have increased from Democrats after the latest ICE-involved shooting in Austin, Texas, on Sunday.

During congressional hearings, Ramirez has previously compared ICE agents to the Ku Klux Klan and to slave patrols. She has also sponsored other bills intended to restrict ICE from its mission.

"ICE is shooting people who are going to work, taking their children to school, and even visiting as tourists," she said in July. "The death toll of ICE victims keeps rising. The actions of ICE’s masked death squads reflect the shameless cruelty of [President Donald] Trump and [Trump aide Stephen] Miller’s policies, paid for by our tax dollars. It’s time to stop the ICE age."

ICE and the DHS did not respond to requests for comment from Blaze News in time for publication.

RELATED: California Democrat calls for ICE to be abolished after Homan announces 'record' arrests

Ramirez had previously made headlines and caused outrage after declaring that she is a "proud Guatemalan" first and an American second.

She is also reportedly married to an illegal alien who received DACA amnesty from the Obama administration.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

DHS blasts Democrats, liberal media over gaslighting campaign about illegal alien shot by ICE



An individual identified by the Department of Homeland Security as an illegal alien from Venezuela was shot on Sunday during an immigration enforcement operation in Austin, Texas.

Democratic officials and the liberal media rushed to vilify Immigration and Customs Enforcement and characterize 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez as a victim who has been subjected to inhumane treatment at the hands of federal authorities.

'He entered illegally under the Biden Administration.'

The DHS has, however, cast doubt on the veracity of the anti-ICE crowd's various claims regarding Perez's case.

"Sanctuary politicians and the mainstream media have wasted no time in spreading lies about an ICE officer-involved shooting of an illegal alien in Austin, Texas," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.

"Contrary to their claims, this person is an illegal alien who has no legal status to be here and has been given some of the best medical care he’s ever received in his life," continued Mullin. "No amount of smears and false narratives will slow down ICE from doing its job by removing dangerous illegal aliens from our communities and making America safe again."

The DHS fact-checked numerous claims that have been advanced by Democrats and/or the liberal media since the incident.

RELATED: Texas shuts down rioters, Democrats fan the flames after ICE shooting

Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro (D) and multiple news outlets pushed the claim by Perez's immigration attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, that the Venezuelan was issued a work permit.

The DHS countered that Perez's "work permit expired in 2025" and noted that "a work permit does NOT grant legal status."

As for Goldfinch's complaint that Perez was ordered removed in absentia, the DHS replied, "Yes. This is why aliens must show up to their removal proceedings. Legal obligations do not end because someone’s address changed."

The DHS similarly rejected the suggestion by Castro and others that Perez lawfully entered the United States and is here legally, stating, "He entered illegally under the Biden administration. The illegal alien had no valid work permit, had no protective status, and had a final order of removal from a Department of Justice (DOJ) Immigration Judge."

In a letter to Sec. Mullin dated Tuesday, Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) and about 100 other Democratic lawmakers also claimed that Perez "is not receiving the care he needs in detention," has received no pain medication, and was forced to sleep on the floor.

The DHS said instead that Perez "is receiving medical care around the clock, including pain medication," and that he "was released from the hospital and arrived at the detention facility just a few hours later, where he slept on a bed."

Democrats further claimed in the letter that "there is no indication Mr. Garces Perez posed a threat to officers." However, newly released footage appears to show a car matching the description of Perez's vehicle speeding away from law enforcement.

"Resisting officers and evading arrest is dangerous for our officers, illegal aliens, and the public," said the DHS. "We remind the public that resisting officers and evading arrest is a felony and a federal crime."

His translator at a news conference Monday said, "He asked the ICE officer if he could please at least pull over so that they could detain him. They said no, and they side-swiped him, basically. He did a U-turn to try and find a spot to park so that he could go with them, and they basically ran into him and then shot him."

Perez is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 30 in connection to his attorney's effort to challenge his deportation.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

DOJ claims ICE agent made up wild 'broom' attack story after shooting — but lawyer says he's being used as a 'political pawn'



Did an ICE agent spin up a wild story after shooting a Venezuelan national in Minnesota early this year? Or has he been scapegoated by a state filled with "rage" over immigration law enforcement in general?

Both federal and Hennepin County prosecutors have formally charged Christian Castro, 52, for allegedly lying to investigators, but one of his attorneys, David Lindenmuth, told Blaze News that his client has been unfairly targeted by "rabid" officials looking for someone to blame for other controversies associated with Operation Metro Surge.

'He was in pursuit of people in a vehicle who fled. ... There was a person on that porch that apparently had a weapon at some point.'

"They went through some pretty serious things up there with the federal law enforcement being sent up there. There's a couple of high-profile deaths," Lindenmuth said. "And because of that, I think that what happened, to be quite honest ... [is] Mr. Castro is basically the one that they chose to prosecute."

Lindenmuth did not name names regarding the "high-profile deaths," but the incident involving Castro occurred just one week after Renee Good was fatally shot on January 7.

On January 14, the Department of Homeland Security reported that an unnamed federal immigration officer had "fired a defensive shot to defend his life" during an immigration operation in Minnesota.

The officer had sustained a brutal attack, during which three individuals "ambushed" him and struck him with a "broom handle" and a "snow shovel," the DHS claimed on January 14.

Now, however, the Department of Justice claims the officer made the whole thing up. On September 2, a federal grand jury indicted Castro on six counts of making a materially false statement.

RELATED: Trump threatens Insurrection Act after ambushed ICE agent shoots illegal alien: 'Put an end to the travesty'

Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

The federal indictment claims that on January 14, Castro told the FBI that while he was attempting to arrest one man, a second "unknown man grabbed a red broom off the front porch," "a third unknown man came out of the house, grabbed a black snow shovel," and all three ganged up on him.

Castro then claimed that "he tried to block strikes from the broom to his face with his left hand and reached for his gun," according to the indictment. The men then bolted for a nearby residence, and Castro "lifted his back off the ground and fired one round from his gun in the general direction of the men at the same time they started running."

Castro estimated to the FBI that he struggled on the ground with the original subject, identified as "A.A.," for "approximately three minutes," the indictment said.

According to federal prosecutors, none of Castro's claims are true. Instead, prosecutors claim: No one struck Castro with a broom or a snow shovel at that time; there was no third person involved; Castro was standing when he shot through the front door of the duplex residence, where the two men had already hidden themselves; and the scuffle on the ground lasted only 11 seconds.

A probable cause statement from Hennepin County indicated that, following a 911 call, Minneapolis police took "remote-control of a city camera" and angled it at the residence in time to capture much of the incident.

Castro's bullet struck one subject, identified as Julio Sosa-Celis in news reports but referred to as "J.S.-C." in the federal indictment. Sosa-Celis was wounded in the leg but has recovered from his injury.

The indictment describes J.S.-C. as a 24-year-old "citizen of Venezuela" who resided in the duplex.

The probable cause statement claimed that at the time of the shooting, Sosa-Celis and A.A. "were residing in Minnesota lawfully, having been granted 'Temporary Protected Status' by the United States Department of Homeland Security."

Sosa-Celis was arrested shortly after the incident, but all charges against him have since been dropped.

Though Lindenmuth admits that Castro "fired his weapon" that fateful night, Lindenmuth insisted that Castro is "innocent" and "had no intent to lie to federal agents."

"The federal government has to prove that Mr. Castro lied to them, and then the state government has to prove that he actually committed a crime," he explained to Blaze News. "The facts as I understand them is that he was in pursuit of people in a vehicle who fled, right? They fled. Then they fled on foot. There was a person on that porch that apparently had a weapon at some point."

In the county probable cause statement, the original subject of the operation — whom the federal indictment referred to as "A.A." — admitted to investigators on January 14 that he fled from the agents in his vehicle because "he feared for his life" and led them on a 25-minute chase. Once he arrived at his residence, he made a run for the front door but "slipped on the ice" and was then "tackled" by the ICE agent.

Video of the incident also shows that prior to the shooting, Sosa-Celis "stepped onto the front lawn of the home holding a snow shovel," the probable cause statement indicated.

Castro was originally indicted by the Hennepin County district attorney back in May on four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime.

He was arrested following the federal indictment and booked into Hennepin County Jail. Jail records show only the state charges.

Castro pled not guilty to the federal charges on Friday. He was released from jail after posting a $200,000 bond.

Castro is scheduled to appear in court again for the state charges on November 3. The DHS has suspended him without pay, Lindenmuth confirmed.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota, the DHS, the Hennepin County Prosecutor's Office, and the office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (DFL) did not respond to requests for comment from Blaze News.

RELATED: Anti-ICE aid fund in Minnesota shuts down — and you can probably guess the reason why

Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Lindenmuth characterized the charges as a miscarriage of justice against a devoted American patriot who has been turned into a "political pawn" by bad actors.

"Mr. Castro was a 13-year veteran in the Army, a combat veteran deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he received a 100% disability rating as a result of his service for 70% for PTSD, 30% for traumatic brain injury, where he was hit by the last wave of a suicide bomber on the American embassy over there. And so this is a person who was injured serving his country," Lindenmuth claimed, adding that Castro has also spent a decade as an immigration officer.

"He has given his life to serving this country, and he's not [been given] the benefit of the protections of the presumption of innocence. ... Basically he's being tried out in public by the state of Minnesota, and it's sad to see.

"That's not how we're supposed to operate."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Texas shuts down rioters, Democrats fan the flames after ICE shooting



Radicals waving foreign flags and leftist signage flooded the streets of North Austin on Sunday following a nonfatal shooting involving a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer and a Venezuelan national.

As the sun set on a day full of anti-ICE rhetoric from Democratic officials, including Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, protesters turned violent, prompting a crackdown from Texas Department of Public Safety troopers.

The shooting

The shooting took place just before 1 p.m. on Sunday in the 8000 block of Anderson Square.

'I am ready to Melt ICE.'

Austin-Travis County EMS Rob Luckritz noted that the individual who caught the bullet — identified by his immigration attorney as 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan national allegedly working as a DoorDash driver — had stable vital signs but was nevertheless taken to Dell Seton Medical Center in "serious condition."

A video live streamed around the time of the shooting and reviewed by the New York Times captures the sound of screeching tires and a collision, then pivots to show a damaged Corolla driven by Perez stopped next to an SUV driven by an ICE officer, the NYT reported. The vehicles can be seen on the video facing in opposite directions.

In a different video obtained by ABC News that shows the aftermath of the shooting, Perez can be heard claiming in Spanish that he was shot for failing to "brake," the outlet reported.

RELATED: The mass-deportation promise is disappearing

Masked radical throws a rock at law enforcement at an anti-ICE demonstration in Austin on Sept. 20. Brandon Bell/Getty Images.

Homeland Security Investigations is now investigating the shooting with the help of the FBI.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the individual shot on Sunday is an "illegal alien from Venezuela, who illegally entered our country under the Biden administration and had a final order of removal, during a law enforcement operation today in Austin, TX."

Perez received treatment at the hospital and was transferred into ICE custody.

The Democratic reflex

Following the shooting, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson joined other Democrats in presuming the worst and attacking ICE, stating, "I am very angry and extremely disappointed that a person was shot on the streets of Austin by ICE. While I’m angry and disappointed, I’m not surprised. This has happened in other cities. With the rogue nature of ICE and the chaos we’re seeing fomented by ICE, there’s no reason to be surprised."

Texas Rep. Greg Casar (D) also seized the opportunity to remind everyone that he loathes federal immigration enforcement, stating, "The horror has come to our city: ICE has shot a person in Austin this morning."

"Just like Americans have from Minneapolis to Houston, Austinites will speak out peacefully against this deadly mass deportation machine. ICE has been terrorizing our country for far too long. We will not be silent," added Casar, the son of immigrants.

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) tweeted, "Trump has allowed ICE to flood our streets and put our communities in harms [sic] way again and again and Governor Abbott is complicit every time."

Anchor-baby Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) accused the DHS of being the "biggest threat to our collective safety" and noting, "I am ready to Melt ICE and dismantle DHS!"

While admittedly short on information, Texas state Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D) stated, "This violence cannot continue."

The restoration of order

As Democrats took turns attacking ICE online, a horde of anti-ICE demonstrators rallied near the scene of the shooting, waving signs that said, "Stop ICE murder," "F**k ICE," "Moms against ICE," "Justice 4 Wilber," and "Abolish ICE."

The mob grew increasingly unruly, not only lobbing rocks and other projectiles at law enforcement but attempting on multiple occasions to march on the taped-off site of the shooting. The Texas Department of Public Safety troopers responded by firing pepper balls toward the radicals while Austin police officers in riot gear stood ready.

After deploying tear gas, tackling some rioters, and successfully dispersing the mob, whose assembly was declared unlawful, troopers left the scene around 11 p.m., reported NBC News.

Blaze News reached out to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the DHS for comment but did not immediately receive responses.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!