One Detainee Dead, Two Critically Wounded After Shooting at Dallas ICE Facility
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called the incident “horrific,” and said his office is making sure that “all resources are brought to bear in the investigation.”
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the shooting was “an attack on ICE law enforcement.”
The Trump administration has made immigration a top priority, moving non-immigration federal law enforcement officers to help ICE arrest, detain and deport thousands of undocumented immigrants, including some with legal permission to be in the country. In some cases, ICE has also detained U.S. citizens.
The administration has routinely touted the arrests of men who have been convicted of sexual assaults and other violent crimes and said law enforcement is targeting the “worst of the worst.” But government data shows that a majority of those targeted by ICE have no criminal record.
Gov. Greg Abbott wrote on X that the shooting “will NOT slow our arrest, detention, & deportation of illegal immigrants. We will work with ICE & the Dallas Police Dept. to get to the bottom of the assassin’s motive. We will offer ICE additional support to assist their operations.”
The shooting is at least the third at a Texas ICE facility in recent months.
A July 4 attack at another Texas immigration detention center injured a police officer, who was shot in the neck. Attackers dressed in black military-style clothing opened fire outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, southwest of Dallas, federal prosecutors said. At least 11 people have been charged in connection with the attack.
A man with an assault rifle fired dozens of rounds at federal agents as they were leaving a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen on July 7. The man, identified as Ryan Louis Mosqueda, injured a police officer who responded to the scene before authorities shot and killed him. Police later found other weaponry, ammunition and backpacks inside his car.
Vice President JD Vance said on X that “the obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop.”
House Speaker Dustin Burrows echoed that sentiment.
“All acts of violence and intimidation simply cannot be tolerated within our society, whether it be against law enforcement personnel, political figures, or innocent individuals,” he wrote on X. “I am grateful to the law enforcement officers who quickly responded to the shooting in Dallas this morning and continue to work to ensure the safety of everyone at the ICE field office.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also weighed in on X, saying: “We will continue to do everything in our power to combat the alarming increase of targeted attacks against ICE and all law enforcement by evil, twisted individuals.”
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, said the “tragic killing” of one of the immigrants is “heartbreaking.”
“All of us need to reject extremism in our politics and come together to prevent tragedies like this,” Castro said in a statement.
Uriel J. García is an immigration reporter based in El Paso. Colleen DeGuzman is a general assignments reporter at The Texas Tribune. Nicholas Gutteridge is a reporting fellow based in College Station at The Texas Tribune. This story is published courtesy of the Texas Tribune.The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
