Amid Dallas shooting, assaults on ICE up 1,000%

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

Wednesday’s shooting at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas comes as assaults against ICE officers are up more than 1,000% compared to the same time period last year, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security data.

Assaults include “vehicles being used as weapons towards them, and doxing campaigns targeting federal officers and their families,” DHS said before the Dallas shooting.

Assaults are up as sanctuary jurisdictions refuse to comply with federal immigration enforcement, making communities and agents less safe, according to the Trump administration, The Center Square reported. Under the Trump administration, ICE and other federal agents are targeting the most violent offenders, including designated terrorist organizations Tren de Aragua and MS-13, transnational criminal organizations, Mexican cartels, gang members and violent criminals including murderers, rapists and child sex offenders.

Wednesday morning, a sniper shot several people at a federal building located on the 8100 block of North Stemmons Freeway. It houses ICE’s Dallas Field Office and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations-Dallas.

A preliminary investigation “determined that a suspect opened fire at a government building from an adjacent building,” the Dallas Police Department initially said. “Two people were transported to the hospital with gunshot wounds. One victim died at the scene. The suspect is deceased.”

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the shooting, stating, “While we don’t know motive yet, we know that our ICE law enforcement is facing unprecedented violence against them. It must stop.”

The facility was also targeted one month ago with a bomb threat, the Federal Protective Service announced. U.S. citizen Bratton Dean Wilkinson, 36, arrived at the field office entrance claiming to have a bomb in his backpack, authorities said. He claimed to have a “detonator” on his wrist, prompting the facility to issue a shelter-in-place. Local police and a bomb squad arrived; he was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats.

Wednesday’s shooting was the third one this year targeting federal immigration enforcement officers in Texas. So far, Texas has had the most shootings targeting federal agents this year.

On July 4, a planned ambush occurred at a detention facility south of Ft. Worth in which several dozen rounds were fired at a detention facility in Alvarado in Johnson County. One Alvarado police officer was struck in the neck during the active shooter incident. Suspects attempted to flee but were caught and taken into custody. A manhunt ensued for one remaining culprit, who was arrested.

So far, 16 people have been charged in the case. Six women were arraigned on Monday on charges related to the ambush, Fox 4 KDFW News reported. On Tuesday, additional defendants were arraigned in the case.

Authorities found a jammed AR-style rifle at the scene, other weapons, 12 sets of body armor, two-way radios, spray paint, a flag stating “resist fascism, fight oligarchy,” and flyers stating, “fight ICE terror with class war, free all political prisoners,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Alleged vandals had spraypainted phrases on vehicles and a guard structure stating, “traitor,” “ICE pig,” and profanity, The Center Square reported.

“This type of vigilante lawlessness is emblematic of the dangers federal, state and local law enforcement officials face every day,” Josh Johnson, acting field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations-Dallas said. “Violence and attempts of vandalism at our ICE facilities will not deter our officers from fulfilling their duties. The courageous officers of ICE-ERO Dallas are on the streets and in our detention facilities every day, risking their lives to locate, arrest and remove criminal aliens.”

On July 7, a Michigan resident fired multiple rounds at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol annex located next to the McAllen Airport. A McAllen police officer who responded to the scene was struck by a round. The shooter was shot dead by Border Patrol agents.

Authorities found ammunition and other weaponry the shooter left in his vehicle, which had been spray painted with the phrase, “Cordis Die,” meaning “Call of Duty.”

“The world is much smaller than we think,” McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said. “The threats are always looming. They are always present and incidents like these make us realize that we’ve always got to be on guard and keep our community safe.”

In response to increased violence, FBI investigators and others in law enforcement are tracking down and arresting dozens of Americans allegedly targeting federal immigration enforcement agents and their families, The Center Square reported.