Report: Trump Aides Pre‑Clear DHS Shootings as Justified Before Probes Finish

A new Washington Post investigation, discussed in a CBS News interview with reporter David Nakamura, finds that Department of Homeland Security officers have fired shots during arrests or at protesters at least 16 times since July 2025, and that Trump aides have declared every one of those shootings justified before internal or external investigations were completed. The shootings, which span multiple DHS components, come amid a broader Trump‑era interior enforcement surge that has already produced controversial fatal incidents in Minneapolis, Portland and other cities. According to the report, political appointees are moving quickly to publicly defend agents, potentially prejudging facts and undermining the integrity of formal use‑of‑force reviews that are supposed to determine whether officers acted lawfully. Civil‑rights advocates and some former officials on social media are warning that this "verdict first, investigation later" pattern looks like an attempt to inoculate agents and the department from accountability and to shape public perception before facts are known. The pattern is likely to fuel calls in Congress for independent investigations and stronger oversight of DHS shooting reviews as lawmakers weigh funding and impeachment pushes linked to ICE and Border Patrol tactics.