Attorney Alice Barrett says ICE's use of lethal force against Sousa-Martins "was excessive and dangerous"
Alice BarrettManaging attorney for immigration legal services at We Are CASA and attorney for Sousa-Martins in his immigration case
Barrett, who represents Sousa-Martins in his immigration case, said the plea and sentencing "don't change anything about the bottom line of his case, which is that ICE's use of lethal force against him was excessive and dangerous".
“This plea agreement and the hearing at which he was sentenced don't change anything about the bottom line of his case, which is that ICE's use of lethal force against him was excessive and dangerous”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Was ICE justified in shooting Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins in Glen Burnie, Maryland?
On December 24, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers stopped a white work van driven by Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and fired at it, wounding him. The Department of Homeland Security said that day that he refused to turn off the engine, rammed ICE vehicles and drove directly at officers, and that they fired defensively; it also said a passenger in his van was injured. On January 8, 2026, Anne Arundel County police said the injured passenger was already in custody in an ICE vehicle, and DHS then said he was in one of the ICE vehicles. An FBI affidavit says two ICE officers fired, one about one to two shots and the other multiple shots, and attributes to them accounts that the van moved toward officers at speed and that one believed he would be struck, while Sousa-Martins told the FBI he drove away because he believed he would be shot. He pleaded guilty on April 27 to destroying government property, and a count of resisting or interfering with federal officers was dismissed. The dispute is whether the officers' decision to fire was warranted by the threat they faced, and whether DHS's account of the encounter was accurate.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Reports the plea, the sentence, the charging summary from an FBI agent's account, and comments from Sousa-Martins's immigration attorney and a DHS spokesperson.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Sousa-Martins had pleaded guilty on April 27 to destroying government property and was sentenced to time served. The U.S. Attorney's Office said two government vehicles were damaged.
After the quotation
NBC4 reported that Sousa-Martins remained in ICE custody and that a request had been filed asking a judge to let him stay in the United States while his immigration case proceeds.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the officers' decision to fire on Sousa-Martins. Barrett expressly calls the use of lethal force excessive and dangerous, which is a denunciation of that decision.
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- People and groups discussed
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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- Attorney Alice Barrett says ICE's use of lethal force against Sousa-Martins "was excessive and dangerous"
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The Dispute Index. "Attorney Alice Barrett says ICE's use of lethal force against Sousa-Martins "was excessive and dangerous"". First published: 2026-09-25. Last updated: 2026-09-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/2584-barrett-who-represents-sousa-martins-in-his-immigration