Getty Images, Dept. of Homeland Security and The White House via X/Collage by Emily Bogle/NPR
Two days after At Chandee, who goes by Ricky, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the White House’s X account posted about him, calling the 52-year-old the “WORST OF WORST” and a “CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIEN.”
Except that the photo the White House posted was of a different person. The post also incorrectly claimed Chandee had multiple felony convictions — he has one, for second-degree assault in 1993 when he was 18 years old. He shot two people in the legs and served three years in prison.
“Studies show that immigrants actually have lower crime rates compared to U.S. citizens, regardless of their legal status,” Stumpf explained. “The portrayal of immigrants in some social media posts as the worst offenders distorts the reality of who they truly are.”
Contradictory claims from various authorities
Some posts by DHS and ICE have included photos and statements about individuals’ criminal pasts to showcase the government’s achievements, defend their agents, and criticize states like Minnesota. Local authorities have pushed back against these claims, and some of the federal government’s assertions regarding detained individuals have been challenged in court.
The Cottonwood County sheriff’s office refuted DHS’s post on Facebook, stating that the agency misrepresented the situation. According to the sheriff’s office, they did honor the detainer, but ICE failed to pick up the individual before the order expired, leading to the suspect’s release.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections addressed inaccuracies in a blog post, stating that many individuals listed on DHS’s “Worst of the Worst” website were not arrested as claimed but were transferred to ICE while already in state custody. The Corrections Department has launched a dedicated page to correct false claims made by DHS.
The “Worst of the Worst” website, which features over 30,000 individuals nationwide, includes cases like that of Colombian soccer star Jhon Viáfara Mina, who was extradited to the U.S., convicted of drug trafficking, and served time in federal prison. However, the website mistakenly states that he was arrested in Wisconsin. Viáfara Mina has since completed his sentence and returned to Colombia.
In some instances, DHS and ICE shared details of conflicts during arrests, naming individuals and posting their photos. However, in cases that went to court, the government’s narrative evolved. For instance, after a federal agent shot Julio C. Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis in January, DHS claimed he had launched a “violent attack on law enforcement.” Subsequently, assault charges against Sosa-Celis collapsed in court, leading to the officers involved being placed on leave.
Despite the dropped charges, DHS’s post profiling Sosa-Celis remains online.
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“Her ideas were not well received by the committee due to their lack of detail and organization.”
The committee did not like her ideas because they were not detailed or organized. following sentence:
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
The swift brown fox leaped over the lethargic dog.
