In yet another disturbing case highlighting the growing brutality of U.S. immigration enforcement under President Trump’s renewed mass deportation campaign, a 25-year-old American citizen, Carlos Jimenez, was shot in the back by a federal immigration officer in Ontario, California, last week.
Jimenez, a father of three and resident of a local mobile home park, was reportedly attempting to warn officers that schoolchildren were nearby when the shooting occurred. But according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the officer fired in “self-defense,” claiming Jimenez reversed his car toward agents during a stop.
The DHS narrative has been met with sharp skepticism and outrage. Attorneys representing Jimenez told the Los Angeles Times that their client “was simply backing up to leave after alerting officers” when he was shot once in the shoulder — the bullet still lodged in his body. They called the federal charge of “assault on a federal officer” against him a “cover-up to justify unlawful use of force.”
“He was telling them, ‘Excuse me, can you please wrap this up? Kids are coming out to wait for the bus,’” said attorney Cynthia Santiago. “And immediately, the masked agent pulls out a gun. He’s in fear, and he’s trying to get out of the situation.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, however, defended the shooting in a statement to Newsweek:
“An ICE officer, fearing for his life, fired defensive shots at the vehicle. The subject fled the scene and abandoned his vehicle.”
But no footage of the incident has been released, and the official account has already drawn comparisons to previous cases where ICE agents used lethal force against unarmed individuals, particularly in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods.
This marks the second ICE-involved shooting in Southern California in just over a week. In another case, a man named Carlitos Ricardo Parias was shot in the elbow in South Los Angeles after agents boxed in his vehicle. A deputy marshal was also hit by a ricocheted bullet.
Critics say these incidents show how the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has normalized violence, with heavily armed, masked agents storming neighborhoods. Congresswoman Norma Torres condemned the actions:
“They are heavily armed, masked individuals, storming neighborhoods and taking people down simply because of the color of their skin or how they look. This behavior must stop.”
Despite the growing backlash, federal officials have doubled down. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli warned on X (formerly Twitter):
“Do not assault or interfere with federal agents doing their jobs. If an agent feels threatened, you may get shot, and you will be arrested and charged.”
That statement has been blasted by civil rights groups as a threat against the public and a chilling reminder of how law enforcement power is being abused under Trump’s direction.
Meanwhile, Jimenez remains injured and under federal prosecution — a citizen shot by his own government for trying to protect children from potential danger. His attorneys are calling for the immediate release of bodycam or dashcam footage, and for an independent investigation into what they describe as a reckless and unlawful use of deadly force.
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