Democrat Senator Says His Party Should Not Tone Down Rhetoric Against ICE Agents After Shooting

This article, authored by Nicole Silverio is republished under the Creative Commons “CC BY-NC-ND” license with permission from The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said on Thursday that his party should continue condemning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) even after a deadly shooting at a facility in Dallas, Texas.

Murphy said on “Morning Joe” that accusing ICE agents of “rounding up” illegal immigrants in a “deeply inhumane and immoral way” is not an incitement of violence, continuing that Democrats should keep using this type of rhetoric. He claimed that President Donald Trump’s administration is exploiting the recent acts of violence in the U.S. for its own political gain.

“This president, this vice president has had a chance now since the assassination of Charlie Kirk to bring the country together, to try and stamp out all sorts of violence, including political violence, and they refuse to do that,” Murphy said. “What they are trying to do is exploit these murders , these shootings, in order to silence only dissent and political opposition on the left. No, criticizing the way that ICE is rounding up people in this country in a deeply inhumane and immoral way is not an incitement to violence. There is a moment where you cross the line, but what they are trying to do is to destroy the ability for people who oppose their policies to legitimately engage in political debate.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Kash Patel confirmed on Thursday that the alleged shooter, Joshua Jahn, downloaded a document that contained a list of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) facilities, searched multiple ballistics and the video of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk getting shot and looked up apps that track ICE agents. Authorities also discovered a handwritten note which stated, “Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, ‘is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?’”

Patel released a photograph of the bullet casings on Wednesday, which had been engraved with the phrase, “ANTI-ICE.” More evidence released on Thursday morning suggested the suspect searched apps that tracked ICE agents and left a note suggesting he intended to attack agents.

Democrats have compared ICE to the Nazi regime and have accused the agency of being authoritarian. Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett said on Friday that ICE agents are akin to “slave patrols” during an MSNBC interview. Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz notably labeled ICE as the “modern-day Gestapo” during a commencement speech in May.

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in May that ICE is a “rogue agency that should not exist.” Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar has also repeatedly called for ICE to be abolished and even pushed a debunked story published by NBC News, which alleged that ICE detained a 5-year-old autistic girl.

ICE facilities have faced a substantial increase in attacks since Trump began cracking down on illegal immigration on Jan. 20. Agents have endured a 1000% increase in assaults against them and the doxxing of themselves and their families, according to DHS.

Authorities have charged at least 11 individuals in connection with an ambush on an ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas, in July, which led to the injury of a police officer who was shot in the neck. An active shooter also shot at Border Patrol agents at a facility in McAllen, Texas, in July.

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