Reaction poured into social media Friday after an FBI affidavit appeared to smack down the Department of Homeland Security’s account of a shooting involving an ICE agent.
The inconsistency was flagged by Cato Institute immigration expert David J. Bier, who told his followers on X that the affidavit shows an ICE agent shot a man while he was fleeing – not acting in self-defense – as DHS initially claimed.
“An FBI affidavit admits that an ICE agent shot a man while he was fleeing from 10 feet away, not--as DHS claimed--while the agent was being beaten with a shovel,” Bier wrote.
“This is part of a pattern where DHS's initial account of any controversy includes many inaccuracies,” he added in a follow-up post.
The revelation quickly sparked sharp criticism online.
“Does DHS ever not lie?” conservative analyst Bill Kristol wrote on social media Friday.
“One of the worst things about this is it’s not longer surprising that ICE lies about violating people’s fundamental rights to life & liberty,” former federal prosecutor Joyce Alene Vance posted to her followers on X.
Rick Wilson of the Lincoln Project reacted bluntly: “Another murder,” while former Rep. Barbara Comstock (D-VA) asked, “When will ICE agents start getting indicted for their crimes?”
According to the affidavit, attorney Robin Wolpert, who represents the man involved in the ICE shooting, said the officer fired from roughly 10 feet away as the man fled, “which showed the officer ‘was not in immediate danger.’”
Wolpert said her client would plead not guilty if indicted.
“DHS did not address the FBI affidavit with the different account of the incident when asked for comment,” the document cited by Bier stated.
“They lie every single time,” X user @cringelemon wrote.
“Journalists should operate from the assumption they everything ICE says is false,” Jonathan Cohn, the policy director for the nonprofit Progressive Mass, concluded.


