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Federal immigration officers have shot 11 people since September as the Department of Homeland Security has ramped up deportation operations around the country. In the majority of the shootings, officers have fired into cars — a tactic that law enforcement authorities and policing experts have been trying for decades to curtail.
The vehicle shootings raise serious concerns among policing experts about the rapidly expanding deployment of DHS personnel into American communities, where officers are regularly captured on video clashing with immigrants who are in the country illegally as well as citizens who protest the arrests.
The shootings “are not one-offs,” said Jim Bueermann, the former police chief in Redlands, California, who now runs the Future Policing Institute, a research group. “This is clearly developing into a pattern and practice of how they deal with people in the enforcement of immigration laws, and to me that’s the most alarming thing we’re seeing.”
DHS says that in each case, the officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection believed their lives were in danger and that in several of the incidents, officers were injured.
“The pattern is NOT of law enforcement using deadly force. It’s a pattern of vehicles being used as weapons by violent agitators to attack our law enforcement,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Dangerous criminals — whether they be illegal aliens or U.S. citizens — are assaulting law enforcement and turning their vehicles into weapons to attack law enforcement.”
The 10 shootings, detailed below, show the varied circumstances and places where ICE and CBP officers have opened fire on people while they were conducting President Donald Trump’s campaign to crack down on immigrants in the U.S. The effort has unleashed thousands of officers across the country, raiding homes and workplaces, approaching people in courthouses, immigration offices and stores, and stopping people on the street. A protest movement has grown to resist the operations, leading to confrontations.
The people who were shot include suspected criminals, immigrants who lack permanent legal status and U.S. citizens. Three died. It is not clear how many of the shootings federal authorities have fully investigated; there have been no public reports of any findings, including whether the gunfire was deemed justified or whether officers have been disciplined. In at least four cases, people shot by agents have been charged with crimes; in two of those cases, the charges were later dismissed.
Firing on cars is one common thread. In seven cases, officers said they shot because a car was moving and they believed it posed a threat.
Chris Burbank, a former police chief in Salt Lake City who has helped the Justice Department investigate agencies suspected of civil rights abuses, said it was unsettling to see repeated cases of federal immigration officers’ firing on drivers. Since at least the 1990s, he said, police departments have tried to curb such shootings by adopting new standards guiding how officers deal with motorists. The movement, he said, was largely driven by cases in which people were needlessly injured or killed because officers said they were afraid they were going to get run over.
The new guidelines have been published by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit organization that studies policing nationwide, and adopted by many police departments. They aimed to prevent officers from positioning themselves in front of or behind vehicles and sought to limit when an officer was allowed to open fire, Burbank said.
DHS has been a focus of that effort. In 2013, the Police Executive Research Forum released a report that indicated CBP officers were deliberately putting themselves in the paths of cars, “exposing themselves to additional risk and creating justification for the use of deadly force.” The group recommended teaching officers that shooting at a car is dangerous and should be avoided and to adopt policies restricting it. DHS’ current policy prohibits officers from firing at moving vehicles, unless they have “reasonable belief” that the drivers pose imminent threats of death or serious injury. Officers should consider the hazards of out-of-control cars, the policy says.
Burbank said he wondered whether officers were being trained on that policy.
Based on his experience and observations of ICE conduct in recent months, including several of the shootings, Burbank said he felt that “there is not a lot of training, not a lot of accountability going on, and you have the feeling of ‘do your jobs at all costs.’” He added, “That’s a really difficult situation to put any law enforcement in, because it takes away your ability to de-escalate.”
Homeland Security officials have forcefully defended their officers, saying they are increasingly in danger, facing a steep uptick in attacks and violent protesters. “Officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training,” McLaughlin said. She said officers are also trained to use “the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations and to prioritize the safety of the public and our officers.”
DHS requires every use of force incident and any discharge of an ICE firearm to be reported and reviewed, and all shootings are examined by “an appropriate law enforcement agency,” McLaughlin said. Those investigations are then followed by an internal ICE review.
DHS has not provided updates on any internal investigations into the shootings. The FBI, which is reviewing at least some of the encounters, said it does not talk about its investigations.
DHS shootings since September 2025
Place: Franklin Park, Illinois
Date: Sept. 12, 2025
Who was shot: Silverio Villegas González was killed.
Who fired shots: Unnamed ICE officer
Description: Villegas González, 38, an immigrant from Mexico living in the U.S. illegally, was pulled over by ICE officers during a vehicle stop. The officers parked their Jeep in front of Villegas González’s car, with one officer approaching the vehicle from the driver’s side and the other from the passenger’s side. Neither was wearing body cameras, but some of the initial interaction was caught on business security video: An officer appeared to reach inside the car, just as Villegas González backed up and then pulled forward. DHS said Villegas González hit and dragged one of the officers, who opened fire on the vehicle. Villegas González crashed into a nearby truck; he was taken to the hospital, where he later died. His autopsy indicated he was shot in the neck. ICE said he had a history of reckless driving.
Latest: The status of the federal investigation into the shooting is unclear.
Place: Chicago
Date: Oct. 4, 2025
Who was shot: Marimar Martinez was injured.
Who fired shots: CBP agent Charles Exum
Description: Martinez, 30, a U.S. citizen, was driving in the city’s Southwest Side when, federal officials said, she intentionally struck a vehicle belonging to three Border Patrol agents and worked with another driver to box in the agents’ car. Exum was unable to move or get out of the vehicle and fired about five shots at Martinez, federal officials said. Martinez then drove off, but paramedics found her at a nearby repair shop; she was taken to the hospital, where she was treated for gunshot wounds. She was arrested on charges of impeding law enforcement, but her lawyers said it was the federal agents who rammed her car with their vehicle. Exum bragged about the shooting in text messages to other agents, according to records presented in court. During a hearing in the case, Exum testified that “I did what I had to do to save my life.” Almost two months after the shooting, a judge dismissed the charges against Martinez after federal prosecutors agreed to drop the case. The judge also denied a request to release body camera video.
Latest: Martinez intends to file a lawsuit, according to her attorney, Christopher Parente.
Place: Los Angeles
Date: Oct. 21, 2025
Who was shot: Carlitos Ricardo Parias was injured.
Who fired shots: Unnamed ICE officer
Description: Parias, 44, a Mexican national who is known on TikTok as “Richard LA,” and who federal authorities said was living illegally in the U.S., left his southern Los Angeles home at 8:45 a.m. and was followed by federal officers executing an arrest warrant for him related to a federal immigration proceeding, federal officials said. Parias’ Toyota Camry was boxed in by three government vehicles. Federal officials said that Parias failed to comply with commands to get out of his car and submit to an arrest and that he tried to dislodge his vehicle by driving it back and forth, putting the officers in danger. Body camera video from an ICE officer showed the officer boxing in Parias’ car, then getting out and breaking open the passenger-side window. Holding a gun, the officer shouted commands for Parias to turn off the car. Amid the chaos, the officer opened fire, striking Parias in the arm. One bullet ricocheted and hit a U.S. marshal in the hand, federal officials said. Parias was charged with assault on a federal officer. Two months later, a federal judge dismissed the charge, citing constitutional violations by the government for depriving Parias of access to counsel while he was being detained and failing to meet deadlines.
Latest: Parias remains at a detention center in Adelanto, California. Federal prosecutors filed a notice of appeal of the dismissal of his criminal charge.
Place: Phoenix
Date: Oct. 29, 2025
Who was shot: Jose Garcia-Sorto was injured.
Who fired shots: Unnamed ICE officer
Description: Garcia-Sorto, whom DHS described as a Honduran in the U.S. illegally, was stopped by ICE officers around 4 a.m. along Interstate 17. DHS officials said Garcia-Sorto began to pull away when officers approached his car. An officer who was in the path of the vehicle “defensively discharged his service weapon” twice, officials added. The officer was taken to the hospital for evaluation; the extent of any injuries was unclear. DHS said that Garcia-Sorto was also treated at the hospital for a wound and was stable and that he was later released. It is unknown whether the interaction was captured on video.
Latest: Garcia-Sorto is being held at a detention center in Florence, Arizona. No criminal charges have been announced against him in the shooting.
Place: Ontario, California
Date: Oct. 30, 2025
Who was shot: Carlos Jimenez was injured.
Who fired shots: Unnamed ICE officer
Description: Jimenez, 25, a U.S. citizen, was driving a Lexus SUV near his home in Ontario when, federal officials said, he pulled up to immigration enforcement officers who were stopping another vehicle. Federal officials said that Jimenez did not initially comply with commands to leave the scene and that after he pulled forward, he backed up and accelerated toward the officers and the other vehicle. That’s when one of the officers fired their weapon, striking Jimenez in the shoulder, federal officials said. Jimenez drove from the scene and checked himself into a hospital. He was later taken into custody. It is unclear whether there is video from the incident. Federal prosecutors charged Jimenez with assault of a federal officer and said in a complaint that the officer “feared” he was going to hit them, although it did not specify whether any officers were injured. His lawyers said that he wanted to warn the officers that they were blocking a school bus stop where children would be arriving and that he did try to leave the scene. Jimenez pleaded not guilty and was released on a $10,000 bond.
Latest: A trial is scheduled for April 13.
Place: Starr County, Texas
Date: Dec. 11, 2025
Who was shot: Isaias Sanchez Barboza was killed.
Who fired shots: Unnamed CBP agent
Description: A 31-year-old Mexican national was one of several people wearing camouflage clothing spotted by Border Patrol agents on the riverbank along the U.S.-Mexico border, west of the Rio Grande City Port of Entry, CBP officials said. As the agents approached just after 4 p.m., the group scattered, with some running back toward Mexico. Agents tried to apprehend one of the men, later identified by Texas officials as Barboza, according to DHS. An agent reported he was engaged in an “active struggle” for about two minutes, and ultimately the agent opened fire at least three times. Other Border Patrol agents arrived at the scene, requested emergency medical help and performed CPR, the DHS said. Barboza was pronounced dead at a hospital, CBP officials said. It is unclear whether there is video of the encounter.
Latest: Barboza’s body was returned to Mexico, according to the Texas Rangers, which said their investigation continues.
Place: Glen Burnie, Maryland
Date: Dec. 24, 2025
Who was shot: Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins was injured.
Who fired shots: Unnamed ICE officer
Description: Sousa-Martins, a Portuguese national who DHS said overstayed a visa that expired in 2009, was in his van when ICE officers approached him in a Baltimore suburb where they were conducting an operation. DHS officials said Sousa-Martins did not comply with their request to turn off the engine and instead rammed the van into several ICE vehicles as he tried to flee. He then drove the van directly at ICE officers, DHS officials said. The officers opened fire, striking Sousa-Martins, who was hospitalized. It is unclear whether there is video from the incident.
Latest: No criminal charges were announced against Sousa-Martins, who remains in ICE custody. The shooting is under investigation by the Anne Arundel County Police Department. Three weeks after the shooting, police contradicted DHS’ initial narrative that Sousa-Martins had a passenger in the van who was injured when the van crashed; they said the other man was already in custody in an ICE vehicle at the time. In a subsequent statement to NBC News, DHS corroborated that detail.
Place: Minneapolis
Date: Jan. 7, 2026
Who was shot: Renee Good was killed.
Who fired shots: ICE officer Jonathan Ross
Description: Good, 37, a Minneapolis resident and U.S. citizen, was behind the wheel of a Honda Pilot SUV on Portland Avenue, parked perpendicular to one-way traffic as federal law enforcement vehicles were trying to get through. Ross got out of his vehicle and circled the SUV while he was recording with his cellphone. Two other officers approached Good from the driver’s side, ordering her to get out of the car, according to video from bystanders, as well as Ross’ cellphone. One officer pulled on the driver’s door handle. Good briefly reversed, then moved forward, turning the SUV’s wheels to the right, away from the officers and in the direction of traffic. At that moment, Ross, who was by then at the driver’s-side corner of the hood, fired three times, striking Good in the chest and head. Good lost control of the SUV, which accelerated down the street and crashed. She was pronounced dead soon after. A DHS official said Ross fired in self-defense and sustained internal bleeding to the torso but did not provide any more details about his injuries.
Latest: The shooting is under investigation by the FBI, which has cut out state and local authorities, although Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said she is collecting evidence on her own. Good’s family hired civil rights attorney Antonio Romanucci, who also represented the loved ones of George Floyd. Romanucci said he is dedicated to “fervently pursuing justice on behalf” of Good.
Place: Portland, Oregon
Date: Jan. 8, 2026
Who was shot: Luis David Nino Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras were injured.
Who fired shots: Unnamed CBP agent
Description: Nino Moncada, 33, a Venezuelan national who authorities say had been ordered removed from the country in 2024, was driving a vehicle targeted during an enforcement operation tied to a prostitution ring of the Tren de Aragua gang, federal officials said. Nino Moncada did not comply with commands to get out the car and instead reversed and struck an unoccupied Border Patrol vehicle multiple times, according to federal officials. In response, an agent opened fire, hitting Nino Moncada and a female passenger, Zambrano-Contreras, a Venezuelan national who authorities say entered the U.S. illegally in 2023. The pair fled. Nino Moncada, who was struck in the arm, and Zambrano-Contreras, who was hit in the chest, were hospitalized and later released. The FBI said there was no body camera video of the shooting. Nino Moncada was charged with aggravated assault of a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon and depredation of federal property in excess of $1,000. Zambrano-Contreras was charged with entering the U.S. illegally.
Latest: Nino Moncada, who is being held in a Multnomah County jail, has pleaded not guilty. Zambrano-Contreras remains at a detention center in Tacoma, Washington. The Oregon attorney general said he is opening an investigation into the shooting while the FBI’s investigation is ongoing.
Place: Minneapolis
Date: Jan. 14, 2026
Who was shot: Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis was injured.
Who fired shots: Unnamed federal law enforcement officer
Description: According to DHS, federal law enforcement officers were conducting a “targeted traffic stop” on Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022. He fled in his car, crashed into a parked car and ran away, DHS said. An officer chased him on foot and tried to arrest him, and Sosa-Celis “began to resist and violently assault” the officer, DHS said. During the struggle, two people came out of a nearby apartment and attacked the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle, DHS said. Sosa-Celis broke loose and began hitting the officer with either the shovel or a broomstick, DHS said. The officer fired, hitting Sosa-Celis in the leg. ICE officers then arrested all three of the alleged attackers. DHS said the man who was shot and the officer were taken to a hospital.
Latest: The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said it is investigating the shooting.
Methodology: The list of shootings is limited to cases in which an on-duty ICE or CBP officer fired at and struck someone; it does not include shootings in which no one was hit or cases in which officers fired weapons other than guns, such as rubber bullets or pepper balls. The descriptions are drawn from government statements, police records, court documents, video and witness accounts. Available information varies, and more details could emerge later.
