In October 2025, a rumor spread that a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a family's dog in El Paso, Texas, while inspecting the family's house for immigrants living in the country illegally.
For example, the popular account We Rate Dogs published the claim on Instagram and Facebook:
(Facebook page We Rate Dogs)
The Facebook post described a dog named Chop whose owner, the family's son, had confined him to the bathroom when masked ICE agents knocked on the door because the dog could "be aggressive with strangers." The son reportedly then went to his truck to fetch his identification document, and the agents entered the home. It was then that one agent allegedly opened the bathroom and shot the dog. The post also included phone numbers for Customs and Border Protection and local authorities, along with a call for the public to reach out and demand an explanation.
The Instagram post included a photograph of the dog and a shorter summary of what allegedly transpired.
(Instagram user @weratedogs)
The two posts had gained a combined 340,000 likes and reactions and nearly 20,000 comments as of this writing. The Facebook page Occupy Democrats also posted about the claim.
The claim stemmed from a Sept. 10, 2025, report from the El Paso-area TV news outlet KFOX, which published a description of the events but said the family preferred to stay anonymous. The father of the man who opened the door to agents reportedly told KFOX that Border Patrol agents, not ICE, had arrived to his son's home in civilian clothes, asking to search it. The report did not say the agents wore masks. The son allegedly gave them permission to search the home, but asked them wait so he could put his dog, a Rottweiler, in the bathroom because the animal could be "aggressive with strangers." Then, as the post recounted, he went to his pickup to find his identification documents. While this happened, one agent reportedly went into the home, then found and shot the dog.
Border Patrol is part of CBP, an agency separate from ICE. (Both are part of the Department of Homeland Security.) Snopes contacted CBP, which confirmed in an emailed statement that "a use of force incident in El Paso" that "involved a canine" had led its Office of Professional Responsibility to open a review:
On Sept. 9 at 7:15 a.m., a U.S. Border Patrol agent was involved in a use of force incident in El Paso, Texas during an investigation into alien smuggling at a residence. The incident involved a canine. The use of force is currently under review by CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility in accordance with CBP policies. CBP takes such incidents seriously. We will provide additional information as it becomes available.
As of this writing, however, this review had yielded no conclusion. We will update this report when CBP shares one.