{"id":259861,"date":"2025-09-27T23:06:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T23:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/259861\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T23:06:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T23:06:31","slug":"dallas-immigrant-community-on-edge-after-ice-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/259861\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas\u2019 immigrant community on edge after ICE shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tears streamed down his face as Jonathan Garc\u00eda, a migrant from Venezuela, clutched a folder containing immigration documents. Above his head, the heat of Dallas contrasted with the chill he felt from fear, not only of deportation, but also of being the victim of an attack<\/a> that could end his life.<\/p>\n

Just one day before, a sniper<\/a> perched on a nearby rooftop rained bullets down upon the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center here on Stemmons Freeway in Dallas, where Garc\u00eda spoke to The Dallas Morning News. He had arrived for his twice-yearly immigration check-in for his pending asylum case.<\/p>\n

The shooter, identified as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn<\/a>, of Fairview, killed one person and injured two others, before taking his own life. Authorities say Jahn was targeting ICE employees, though all of the victims \u2014 at least those shot \u2014 were immigrants such as Garc\u00eda. <\/p>\n

The shooting<\/a> has stoked divisive political rhetoric and a renewed round of recriminations. But for the immigrant community and law enforcement<\/a> \u2014 ICE agents in particular \u2014 the tragedy on Wednesday is an all-too-real reminder of the danger that exists on all sides.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m afraid, I\u2019m scared, because I have to go in alone and leave my family behind,\u201d Garc\u00eda said through tears. \u201cI\u2019m afraid to go out alone and not know about them anymore, not know what might happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jonathan<\/p>\n

Jonathan Garc\u00eda cries while speaking with the News after being turned away from his appointment at the Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement office following the shooting a day prior, Sept. 25, 2025. <\/p>\n

Azul Sordo \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Garc\u00eda already was fearful of deportation. Originally from Maracay, Venezuela, he arrived in the United States two years ago with his wife and two children, with whom he crossed the Darien jungle and then Mexico before reaching North America.<\/p>\n

But now it\u2019s also about violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been thinking about the approaching appointment date for nights and was nervous,\u201d Garc\u00eda said. \u201cToday and tomorrow I will rest easy, but on Monday I have to come back, and I\u2019m afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noraida Ram\u00edrez was inside the ICE offices on Wednesday during the attack. Her husband was outside, waiting for her in the car, when the attack <\/a>occurred.<\/p>\n

For her, the most terrifying moment was when she heard the gunshots and couldn\u2019t communicate with her husband because, when she entered the offices, federal officers always take people\u2019s phones. So, the couple was cut off from communication, not knowing what was happening to each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always come here afraid that they might deport us, that they might send us back to our country,\u201d said Ram\u00edrez, also originally from Venezuela. \u201cBut now we are even more afraid with everything that has happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

The News made multiple attempts \u2014 through emails and phone calls \u2014 to speak with ICE agents about being targeted for violence, but ICE officials did not respond.<\/p>\n

\"ICE,<\/p>\n

ICE, police, and FBI investigators take shelter from the rain under a building overhang in a parking lot near Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement office after a shooting at the facility on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in Dallas.<\/p>\n

Angela Piazza \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Nancy Larson, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said at a news conference Thursday that Jahn wrote he intended to \u201cmaximize lethality\u201d against ICE employees and also damage the facility. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear from these notes,\u201d Larson said, \u201cthat he was targeting ICE agents and personnel.\u201d <\/p>\n

Marcos Charles, the Executive Associate Director for ICE\u2019s Enforcement and Removal Operations, said targeted actions such as this hit home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a heightened sense of security for everybody,\u201d he said, \u201cnot only at work but for their families, for their families, for their loved ones.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sarah Salda\u00f1a, the former director of ICE under the Obama administration, stressed in a phone interview with The News on Wednesday that immigration agents are not the ones writing the country\u2019s laws but simply enforcing them.<\/p>\n

Immigration agents arresting migrants \u2014 who will then be placed into deportation proceedings \u2014 have always faced risks, she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cGoing to a person\u2019s home at 6 o\u2019clock in the morning, knocking on the door, is dangerous,\u201d Salda\u00f1a said. <\/p>\n

So, too, is working or visiting an ICE facility. This marked the second shooting at a North Texas ICE facility in the last few months. Each week, hundreds of people come to these facilities to check in and complete other immigration procedures.<\/p>\n

Yoherkis Garc\u00e9s is a Venezuelan woman who has been in Dallas for two years. On Wednesday, she was inside the ICE offices when the shooting occurred.<\/p>\n

\"Noraida<\/p>\n

Noraida Ramirez y Yoherkis Garces are turned away from their appointments at the Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement office following the shooting a day prior, Sept. 25, 2025. <\/p>\n

Azul Sordo \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the first shot rang out, we thought it was fireworks, but it was strange because of the time,\u201d said Garc\u00e9s, referring to the attack that began at 6:40 a.m. \u201cBut two or three minutes later, there was a barrage of gunfire, and then we knew it was an attack, but we didn\u2019t know where it was coming from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garc\u00e9s said that agents moved them to a safer area and they stayed there for several hours until the situation calmed down and it was safe to leave. As she tells the story, her hand still trembles from the fear of the previous day.<\/p>\n

And, again, the fear of violence is piled atop the fear of deportation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I don\u2019t manage to check in this month, and next month they tell me to come in, I don\u2019t know if they\u2019ll allow me to stay because I won\u2019t have this month\u2019s signature,\u201d Garc\u00e9s said. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge fear we all have right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018If they have eyes, may they not see me\u2019<\/p>\n

On Thursday afternoon outside Parkland Hospital in Dallas, where it was reported that at least one of those injured in Wednesday\u2019s shooting was hospitalized, about 30 people gathered outside to hold a vigil for the victims<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Janet Mart\u00ednez begins by inviting those present to pray the rosary, not only for the victims, but for the entire immigrant community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they have eyes, may they not see me. If they have feet, may they not reach for me. If they have hands, may they not touch me. And if they have ears, may they not hear me,\u201d says Martinez, holding the rosary in her hand.<\/p>\n

Mart\u00ednez is part of Vecinos Unidos DFW, a grassroots organization dedicated to accompanying and advising migrants in their dealings with federal authorities. These activists gather mostly at immigration courts.<\/p>\n

Noem\u00ed R\u00edos, one of the founders of Vecinos Unidos DFW, attended the vigil. She said the situation worsens in circumstances like this, when authorities are not transparent and, on the contrary, show their disdain for the migrant community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey dehumanize you. You are not only killed, you are dehumanized,\u201d R\u00edos told The News. \u201cThey don\u2019t even acknowledge that you were a human being who lost your life. You are not just dead; you are erased.\u201d<\/p>\n

Department of Homeland Security officials have identified the three victims who were shot as Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, from El Salvador, who was killed when a gunman fired on the office building at around 6:30 a.m., according to an official with the Department of Homeland Security; Jose Andres Bordones-Molina, from Venezuela, and Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, from Mexico.<\/p>\n

Azael Alvarez of El Movimiento DFW said the emphasis by federal authorities on who was targeted instead of who was actually shot \u2014 authorities delayed specifically stating those shot were immigrants \u2014 should prompt community representatives to seek answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is where we demand our local officials and state representatives to stand up and try to fight for us, because it\u2019s scary,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cThese immigrants are trying to do it the legal way, and if there is a fear of doing that, then they are not going to go because they also fear for their safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Officers<\/p>\n

Officers including Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) gather around 1120 Empire Central Place, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in Dallas. <\/p>\n

Chitose Suzuki \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

That fear extends to their families, said Tony Rodr\u00edguez of Brown Berets DFW, an organization whose members are with a network of vigilantes dedicated to alerting communities to the presence of ICE agents.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are not only afraid that the National Guard or more federal agents will come, as in Chicago or Washington,\u201d Rodr\u00edguez said. \u201cBut now they are also afraid that other people will attack them. The truth is, there is a lot of fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Authorities said the evidence that Jahn targeted ICE agents was contained on a bullet with the message \u201canti-ICE\u201d but more specifically on notes describing his plan that were discovered when executing a search warrant on his residence. <\/p>\n

The shooting at the office follows a July 4th attack at the Prairieland Detention Center, about 35 miles south of Dallas. <\/p>\n

An Alvarado police officer suffered a gunshot wound to the neck but survived. No ICE agents or migrants were injured. Federal authorities described the Independence Day attack as a \u201cplanned ambush.\u201d <\/p>\n

Authorities arrested at least a dozen people, saying they planned an \u201cambush with the attempt to kill ICE correction officers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six women were arraigned<\/a> in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth on Monday in connection with the attack.<\/p>\n

On Aug. 25, authorities arrested a man who walked up to the Dallas ICE office and allegedly told officials he had a bomb in his backpack, the Department of Homeland Security said in a news release. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A group gathers for a weekly prayer vigil outside the Dallas ICE office.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of the Rev. George Mason<\/p>\n

Marcos Charles said rhetoric villainizing ICE agents has to stop. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe call on those who foment violence and vilify our law enforcement officers to cease the dangerous rhetoric,\u201d Charles said. \u201cWe also call on law-abiding Americans everywhere to report any suspicious activity.\u201d <\/p>\n

ICE\u2019s enforcement operations have been a major storyline during President Donald Trump\u2019s second term. He promised to have the largest mass-deportation operation in the country\u2019s history. His methods, however, have been divisive and spurred heated rhetoric.<\/p>\n

That rhetoric \u2014 some argue \u2014 is in great part what is driving the violence that was visited upon Dallas this week. Violence that has been directed at both immigrants and ICE agents alike. Violence that has stoked even more fear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tears streamed down his face as Jonathan Garc\u00eda, a migrant from Venezuela, clutched a folder containing immigration documents.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":259862,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,134303,409,80,358,3187,61,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-259861","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-ice-office-shooting","11":"tag-immigration","12":"tag-politics","13":"tag-texas","14":"tag-tx","15":"tag-u-s-news","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115278773347850056","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}