Democrats in Texas ramp up anti-ICE rhetoric

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(The Center Square) – After the third U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shooting in Texas, Democrats in the state have ramped up anti-ICE rhetoric. 

During the second Trump administration, there have been three ICE shootings in Texas resulting in two fatalities. In Austin, ICE officers shot and injured a Venezuelan national in the country illegally on Sunday. In Houston, ICE officers shot and killed a Mexican national in the country illegally in July. On South Padre Island, ICE officers shot and killed a U.S. citizen from San Antonio last March. All three shot were Hispanic men. Federal authorities have described similar situations in each shooting: each man didn’t comply with orders, attempted to flee, and their vehicles were perceived as a threat. 

Federal and state investigations were launched into the Houston shooting. Federal investigations were launched into the other two shootings. A grand jury ruled the South Padre shooting was justified.

The shootings come after assaults against ICE officers are up 1,300%, vehicle attacks are up by 3,200% and death threats are up by 8,000%, The Center Square reported. 

At a press conference in Austin, Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Casar said, “we will all be more safe when ICE gets the hell out of Austin, Texas.”

Outgoing Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett claimed illegal foreign nationals “are not posing any danger to our community and are contributing to our community.” 

He also claimed, ICE “acts in a secretive way as if it’s above the law and its officers have impunity” and “is eager to fulfill Trump’s deportation quota by rounding up any immigrant that it can find, including those who are making a real contribution to our community. ICE investigating ICE is not an investigation.”

All officer involved shootings are investigated by the FBI and ICE shootings are also investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. Both are independent of ICE. 

Austin Mayor Kik Watson claimed he wasn’t surprised by the “the rogue nature of ICE and the chaos we’re seeing fomented by ICE.” He also claimed Austinites “have a right to feel safe in their community.” Austin city councilwoman Krista Laine claimed ICE is “terrorizing our cities and threatening the safety of our residents.”

They made the claims after crime has escalated in Austin after the city council defunded the police six years ago. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers are still in Austin to address crime as directed by the governor, The Center Square reported.

ICE officers have been arresting violent offenders, including members of foreign terrorist organizations, child rapists and avowed terrorists across Texas. 

One recent arrest was of an Afghan national, Nazira Haji Zada, who’d been living in Fort Worth and was arrested for supporting a plot to commit an ISIS-inspired mass shooting on Election Day in 2024. She is the first foreign national to be deported through the U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court, The Center Square reported. She was deported earlier this month.

Another was of Mexican national Eduardo Aguilar in Dallas after he posted a TikTok video soliciting the murder of ICE agents offering a $10,000 reward, The Center Square reported.

ICE officers are arresting thousands of violent offenders, including members of cartels and sex offenders. In Houston, ICE officers arrested more than 400 child sex offenders in one year, The Center Square reported. ICE officers also arrested 228 illegal foreign nationals in a targeted enforcement operation in one day in the Rio Grande Valley without incident. 

“The men and women of ICE have arrested some of the most heinous criminal illegal aliens in Texas, including terrorists, pedophiles, drug traffickers, and fugitives wanted for murder,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. “DHS will never apologize for removing these criminals from our communities, because deporting illegal aliens saves lives. If sanctuary politicians like the Mayor of Austin had their priorities straight, they’d stop putting the needs of illegal aliens over the safety of the American people.”

In other states, Democrats have been publicizing ways to help illegal foreign nationals. 

In New York, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez publicized a “know your rights” guide. It instructs illegal foreign nationals to not open their door when an ICE officer has a warrant, to not speak to ICE officers, and to not share their immigration status, say where they were born or their criminal history. U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman also posted a video, an informational fact sheet and hosted a “Know your rights” seminar with the New York Immigration Coalition communicating similar messaging.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom published a “know your rights” brochure for those who are arrested by ICE, for those who witness an ICE arrest, and instructions on “how to recognize ICE officers,” among other information. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also issued a directive to city agencies to not work with ICE, to report federal immigration enforcement efforts, and to expand city services and programs to support those living in the city illegally.