Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis

Synopsis

Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, 24, is a Venezuelan national who lived in north Minneapolis with his wife, Indriany Mendoza Camacho, and shared a duplex with Alfredo Aljorna and his partner. According to MPR News and court filings cited in that reporting, Sosa-Celis entered the United States in 2023 and received Temporary Protected Status in the fall of 2024. On January 14, 2026, during Operation Metro Surge, ICE agents attempted a traffic stop of Aljorna, who was driving for DoorDash. Aljorna crashed and fled on foot toward the duplex. Sosa-Celis and the two women were inside the home when the struggle moved into the front yard. Mendoza Camacho told MPR on February 5, 2026, that she witnessed the entire incident and that her partner never grabbed a shovel or broom to strike the officer. She said he was trying to separate the agent and Aljorna so both men could get inside the house. Federal authorities initially said Sosa-Celis was shot after he and others attacked an ICE agent with a snow shovel and broom handle. Mendoza Camacho and Aljorna's partner, Valentina de Los Angeles Moreno, filed habeas petitions describing a different sequence: they said the officer punched and choked Aljorna in the yard, that Sosa-Celis helped pull Aljorna away, and that both men ran inside before the agent fired through the closed front door, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg. Reporting and later state charges say the bullet traveled through the door and lodged in the wall of a child's bedroom; two children, ages 1 and 3, were in the home. Federal officers later used tear gas to force the men out, and all four adults and both children were detained. Mendoza Camacho showed MPR where a tear gas canister had been shot through a window into the apartment. Sosa-Celis and Aljorna were held at Sherburne County Jail and charged federally with assaulting an officer. On February 3–5, 2026, U.S. District Judge Paul A. Magnuson ordered their release in the criminal case, finding they did not pose a danger or heightened flight risk, but ICE immediately re-detained them before they could leave the courthouse. On February 7, 2026, a federal judge granted a habeas petition and ordered Sosa-Celis's immediate release, ruling he was not subject to mandatory detention. On February 13, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office moved to dismiss all federal charges with prejudice after newly discovered evidence proved "materially inconsistent" with the government's allegations. ICE Director Todd Lyons later acknowledged that two officers involved had made untruthful statements. In May 2026, Hennepin County charged ICE agent Christian Castro with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime for firing through the door. TIMELINE January 14, 2026 — ICE traffic stop of Aljorna escalates in north Minneapolis; agent shoots Sosa-Celis in the leg; tear gas used; six people including two children detained (MPR News, court filings). February 3–5, 2026 — Federal judge orders Sosa-Celis and Aljorna released in criminal case; ICE re-detains them at the courthouse (Minnesota Reformer, court orders). February 7, 2026 — Federal judge grants habeas petition and orders Sosa-Celis's immediate release (court order). February 13, 2026 — Federal assault charges dismissed with prejudice after new evidence contradicts government account (CBS News, court order). May 18, 2026 — Hennepin County charges ICE agent Christian Castro with assault and falsely reporting a crime (Hennepin County Attorney's Office, CBS Minnesota). This profile summarizes published reporting; legal status may change.

Key takeaways

From court records, news reporting, and linked sources below.

  1. Sosa-Celis, 24, is a Venezuelan national and north Minneapolis resident who received Temporary Protected Status in fall 2024, according to court filings cited by MPR News.
  2. On January 14, 2026, an ICE agent shot him in the leg during Operation Metro Surge after a traffic stop of his roommate Alfredo Aljorna escalated outside their duplex.
  3. His wife, Indriany Mendoza Camacho, told MPR she witnessed the shooting and that her partner never attacked the officer with a shovel or broom; she said he tried to separate the men so they could get inside.
  4. Witness accounts and later video evidence contradicted DHS claims that Sosa-Celis assaulted the agent; federal charges were dismissed with prejudice on February 13, 2026.
  5. State prosecutors later charged ICE agent Christian Castro with firing through the closed front door while adults and children were inside, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg.
  6. Sosa-Celis was released February 7, 2026, after a federal judge granted a habeas petition following ICE's immediate re-detention at the courthouse.

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