GOP blames Democrats for Dallas ICE shooting, Dems point at White House
Within hours of a shooter opening fire on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas, Republicans from the top down said rhetoric from the left were to blame.
Authorities said 29-year-old Joshua Jahn shot ICE detainees being transported to the facility near Dallas Love Field early Wednesday morning. It is a field office for agents covering North Texas and Oklahoma and serves as a processing center before detainees are sent to a long-term detention facility.
At least one detainee was killed and two others were injured. Jahn was killed by a self-inflicted gun shot, according to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. No law enforcement officers were harmed.
An official motive for the attack hasn’t been released, though FBI Director Kash Patel said an initial review indicates it was ideologically motivated. He pointed to an unspent shell casing bearing the words “ANTI-ICE” as supporting evidence.
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Texas Governor Greg Abbott all pointed to left-wing rhetoric as the cause of the shooting. Trump said he will fully root out the “Left Wing Domestic Terrorism” in America.
Noem said politicians and the media have been warned for months to “tone down their rhetoric about ICE law enforcement before someone was killed.”
“These horrendous killings must serve as a wake-up call to the far-left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences,” Noem said in a post on X.
Republicans point to Nazi comparisons
Noem and Trump specifically pointed to comparisons between ICE agents and the Nazi Gestapo.
Earlier in September, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Dallas, said on MSNBC that “as somebody who understands history, when I see ICE, I see slave patrols.”
After the shooting Wednesday, she released a statement saying the rhetoric used to dehumanize and demonize immigrants in America is what is increasing hate crime incidents.
“This rhetoric not only threatens the lives of immigrants in the country but also makes the job of our law enforcement officers more dangerous, as can be seen by today’s tragic events,” Crockett said.
There have been several attacks directed at ICE in recent months. During the first half of 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported at least 79 assaults on ICE officers, according to The Washington Post. There were 10 during the same time period in 2024.
Vance called the shooter a violent, left-wing extremist because of the unfired bullet with “ANTI-ICE” written on it and other evidence “that’s not yet public.”
“They were politically motivated to go after law enforcement,” Vance said at a press conference in North Carolina. “They were politically motivated to go after people who are enforcing our border. And I think that is the most disgusting thing. The very people who keep us safe ought to be honored and protected and praised by Democrats and Republicans alike. It is time to stop the rhetorical assault on law enforcement.”
Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said disagreeing is the democratic process in America, but calling your opponents Nazis is unacceptable. He said we need to stop demonizing those we disagree with.
“To every politician who is using rhetoric demonizing ICE and demonizing CBP, stop,” Cruz said at a press conference in Dallas. “To every politician demanding that ICE agents be doxxed and calling for people to go after their families, stop. This has very real consequences.”
Democrats say source of divisive rhetoric is the White House
State Rep. Chris Turner, a Democrat from Grand Prairie, agreed with Cruz that violence of any kind, but especially political violence, has no place in America.
Turner said he doesn’t know what specific rhetoric the Republicans are referring to. He said Vance and Trump should stop exploiting tragedies for political gain and that the White House is the source of a lot of the divisive rhetoric.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I haven’t seen an official account of who exactly the shooter was or what the motive was,” Turner said. “So I would, I would encourage public officials to not speculate on motive or causation until law enforcement has completed its investigation and is able to determine exactly what the motive was, if they’re able to determine that.”
The Texas Democratic Delegation released a statement saying they condemn all forms of violence and urge everyone to keep from fanning the flames on all sides.
“As more details of the shooting emerge, we urge everyone to meet this moment with empathy and not give into the lies and hateful rhetoric we are already seeing,” the statement said.