(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Investigative journalism site ProPublica has identified the two federal agents who fatally shot anti-ICE demonstrator Alex Pretti on Jan. 24. In what many have described as a twist of irony, the immigration agents appear to be of Hispanic decent.
According to ProPublica, the agents who killed Pretti are Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
“Both men were assigned to Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement dragnet launched in December that sent scores of armed and masked agents across the city,” the outlet reported Sunday.
“Ochoa is a Border Patrol agent who joined CBP in 2018. Gutierrez joined in 2014 and works for CBP’s Office of Field Operations. He is assigned to a special response team, which conducts high-risk operations like those of police SWAT units. Records show both men are from South Texas.”
Here is Raymundo (Ray) Gutierrez, the second agent to shoot Alex Pretti
(seen at a 2013 Halloween party in a Border Patrol vest and more recently.) https://t.co/QQeVoFabJf pic.twitter.com/IoQ8Rtcg0y
— Jacqueline Sweet (@JSweetLI) February 2, 2026
ProPublica’s report sparked comments about the agents’ names.
“Two Hispanic patriots kill a violent white communist who gave his life to protect Somalians engaged in massive daycare and healthcare fraud,” quipped the Twitter/X account FischerKing.
ICE and other agencies have so far declined to confirm the agents’ identities. The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the matter.
The Trump administration has claimed that ICE shot Pretti “defensively” he “approached” them with a gun.
Video footage clearly contradicts that claim.
Pretti was licensed to carry a concealed weapon, but he appears to be seen with only a phone in his hand in the videos. During the scuffle, agents discovered that he was carrying a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun and opened fire with several shots, including into his back—after he had already been disarmed.
It was later revealed that Pretti had a confrontation with ICE a week prior. Footage of that incident, released by The News Movement last Wednesday but recorded on Jan. 13, shows a man, whom the outlet said “appears to be” Pretti, shouting at a federal vehicle, kicking and breaking its taillights and then being taken to the ground by multiple agents. Why he wasn’t arrested is unclear.
CNN also reported that ICE has been collecting the personal information of agitators and protesters who they encounter.
“Pretti’s name was known to federal agents, according to a source—though it’s unclear whether the new intake form was used to share his information,” CNN reported.
“It’s also not clear whether the federal agents who encountered Pretti on Saturday recognized him before they confronted him—eventually wrestling him to the ground, taking a gun from his waistband and then fatally shooting him.”
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
