DHS statements unravel as evidence, courts contradict claims
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Photo illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios; Photos: Scott Olson/Chicago Tribune via Getty Images
In the heat of Operation Midway Blitz, officials at the Department of Homeland Security made several statements that were later disputed or disproven by video evidence and federal courts as recently as last week.
Why it matters: People often only remember the initial claims, not later refutations that emerge piecemeal, making them difficult to track.
The big picture: We've compiled 12 of the biggest disputed allegations by DHS officials and the evidence or court actions that overturned them.
- We asked DHS officials to comment on the claims and refutations below, but they did not respond by press time.
1. ICE continues to characterize its immigration operation as being focused on arresting the "worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens."
- But the latest TRAC Report data shows that only 26% of those detained by ICE/CBP as of November had any criminal convictions. Another 26% had pending charges, and nearly half (48%) had no criminal charges at all.
- The number of non-criminal immigration arrests has been rising as the arrest of those with criminal charges or convictions falls, a new Axios analysis shows.
2. Both DHS officials and Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino publicly stated, and he repeated under oath, that he threw tear gas at a crowd in Little Village after he was hit or almost hit with a rock. Video evidence directly contradicted it.
- During his three-day deposition, Bovino admitted he was not hit until after deploying tear gas, then that same day presented a new justification — that a rock "almost hit" him before he gassed the crowd.
- On the final day, Bovino admitted he had been "mistaken" and confirmed no rock hit him until after he launched the first canister.
3. DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin claimed in an X post that is still up that an October video of a teen being tackled by a DHS agent on her lawn in suburban Hoffman Estates was actually a video of a Chicago police officer tackling a burglar.
- CPD has no jurisdiction in Hoffman Estates, where the scene clearly takes place based on street signs and a Hoffman Estates squad car in the background.
- Additional video shows the same DHS officer walking through the Hoffman Estates police department parking lot with the teen in question.
4. The DHS press office and an online video assert that Broadview protesters in September were throwing objects, being violent and shooting "artillery shell type fireworks" at DHS agents.
- But federal judge Sara Ellis' written order states that DHS' helicopter and body cam footage show the explosions were caused by DHS agents' flashbang grenades, not protester fireworks.
- Aerial footage showed agents throwing smoke or gas devices in the area where DHS claimed protesters were responsible for throwing objects.
5. CBP agent Justin Elizalde wrote in use-of-force reports that he gave protesters multiple warnings and "a considerable amount of time" to comply before throwing tear gas. But Ellis' order notes that video evidence contradicted these claims:
- Multiple body cams recorded no audible warnings.
- On one recording, a warning was shouted seconds before tear gas was deployed, which Ellis says was not a "considerable amount of time."
- Elizalde's camera had no audio enabled until after gas was thrown, Ellis's order says.
6. DHS issued statements that gang members in Little Village were stationed on rooftops with guns and communications gear to ambush agents. But Ellis' order notes:
- No evidence showed the individuals on rooftops had firearms.
- DHS's narrative was unsupported by any record evidence.
7. Bovino and agent Kristopher Hewson claimed maroon-clad protesters in Little Village were tied to the Latin Kings. But Ellis noted:
- Maroon is not a Latin Kings color (its colors are black and gold).
- Videos showed ordinary citizens, including an alderman, wearing maroon clothing.
8. Border Patrol agent Charles Exum claimed that Miramar Martinez rammed her car into his vehicle on Oct. 4, after which he shot her five times. Court documents show Exum later bragged about the shots and drove the car to Maine.
- By Nov. 20, U.S. States Attorney Andrew Boutros' office dropped felony assault charges against Martinez, whose lawyer said she was the one who was rammed and the victim of unjustified force.
9. Broadview protester Cole Sheridan was charged with assaulting Bovino in Broadview on Oct. 4.
- Four weeks later, video emerged showing Sheridan was the one pushed down by agents, leading Boutros' office to drop the charges.
10. ICE Chicago field director Russell Hott said his agents faced a rush of doxings and threats of violence. But Ellis' report says the websites Hott cited showed very few listings and included incidents outside Illinois, contradicting his claims of widespread doxing.
11. 70-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran Dana Briggs (and four others, including Jocelyne Robledo, Ray Collins, Paul Ivery and Hubert Mazur) were accused of either impeding or assaulting DHS officers in September outside the Broadview ICE facility.
- By late November, all charges against them were dismissed by Judge Gabriel Fuentes for reasons including the unprovability of the cases and failure to obtain an indictment from a grand jury.
12. DHS raided a South Shore building on Sept. 30 and detained 37 immigrants, claiming the building was "filled" with Tren de Aragua gang members and violent criminals.
- But a ProPublica investigation found that DHS officials only arrested two people allegedly affiliated with the gang, and at least one had no criminal history. In the end, the raid resulted in no criminal charges at all.