Dallas immigration attorneys say migrants who were being processed at the downtown Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office prior to this week’s deadly shooting have been transferred to a facility about 40 miles away.
The suspected gunman, identified as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, shot three detainees early Wednesday morning, killing one. The ICE office is closed for check-ins for the rest of the week.
For now some detainees have been moved to the Prairieland facility in Alvarado for processing, and may be moved to other facilities from there, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
KERA News reached out to ICE to confirm but did not receive a response.
Attorney Jaime Barron, whose office is near the ICE building, said the transfer can complicate clients’ immigration cases. Clients are more stressed and don't have quick access to their attorneys, he said.
“Sadly, the distance affects the proper legal representation and defense of a client,” he said.
The move comes as the Department of Homeland Security increases security at ICE detention facilities across the country. The Prairieland Detention Center was the site of an unrelated shooting over the July 4 holiday in which an officer was shot.
In the meantime, migrants with scheduled check-ins at the Dallas ICE field office should show up when it re-opens for appointments on Monday, Barron stressed.
"If it was me, I would comply with the law and show up on Monday," Barron said. “If they don't show up, ICE is just going to go find them, pick them up. And then if they're in a bad situation, now they're going to be in a worse situation.”
The latest act of violence has immigration rights activists and some attorneys worried that migrants who have upcoming check-ins might not show up out of fear. Barron said over the last several months, there’s been more hate towards immigrants and attorneys who represent them.
“We get a lot of hate mail online, threats, insults,” he said. “Sadly, that's what we have to live through to properly do our work and defend our clients.”
Officials are investigating the shooting as an anti-ICE attack. While many state and federal leaders, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Vice President JD Vance, issued statements decrying the violence against ICE law enforcement, North Texas U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey called out the Trump administration for not acknowledging the detainees. He said they’re “already exploiting this tragedy to stoke fear, division, and anger.
“That is shameful,” he said in a statement. “In this moment of grief, what our community needs are leaders who will bring people together, not tear us further apart.”
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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