Faith Leaders React to Shooting at Dallas ICE Office
Before Wednesday’s shooting at Dallas’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, North Texas faith leaders had been gathering outside the building every Monday to pray for immigrant detainees and ICE agents. The Rev. Eric Folkerth, senior pastor of Kessler Park United Methodist Church, organized the vigils through the Clergy League for Emergency Action and Response, which he helps lead. The vigils began in May.
Folkerth said the news of the shooting was devastating. “The paradox of what has happened today is that the intent of our vigils were to call for justice for everyone, and a decrease in violent responses,” he said. Now, he worries the shooting will “further inflame” conversation on all sides about immigration enforcement.
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Weekly Prayer Vigils
The Rev. George Mason, who leads the multi-faith group Faith Commons, which helped organize the vigils, said they drew about 20 to 30 people each week.
A group gathers for a weekly prayer vigil outside the Dallas ICE office.
Courtesy of the Rev. George Mason
Mason said he and other faith leaders had been praying for both the safety and the “moral conscience” of ICE agents who worked in the building. Attendees had also held up signs with messages like “We love our immigrant neighbors” and “Due process is a right for all.”
After he saw news of the shooting, Mason said he felt “deep grief” over violence plaguing the United States.
Shooting Aftermath
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Homeland Security officials confirmed that three ICE detainees were shot. One has died, while the other two were hospitalized in critical condition as of Wednesday afternoon.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem wrote on X that the suspect is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Clergy League for Emergency Action and Response and Faith Commons released a joint statement Wednesday. “We are concerned that situations like this cause everyone to come away feeling justified in their outrage and anger,” according to the statement.
“We call our city and our nation to remember that true restoration is never built through violence but through compassion, equity, and the pursuit of justice for every neighbor.”
Reactions from Faith Leaders
Almas Muscatwalla, a Shia Ismaili Muslim faith leader and supporter of Faith Commons, said she had also been attending the vigils outside the ICE office.
News of the shooting left her both heartbroken and angry, she said.
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Muscatwalla said she was particularly angry that a detainee’s life had been taken.
“Some of our friends, migrant friends, are spending time in the detention center when they should be with their families,” she said. “Now, their life is threatened. They’re vulnerable to these kinds of shootings.”
In the wake of the shooting, Mason said the first priority is grieving the victims. Then, he called for a de-escalation of “the rhetoric that leads to violence.”
“Regardless of whether it comes from the left or the right, violence is no way to resolve our disputes in a civil society,” he said. “Anyone who seeks to attack law enforcement or detainees [is] undermining our capacity to live together in a way that respects human dignity.”
Folkerth said the U.S. is seeing an increase in violence of all kinds — from assassinations to inhumane conditions in detention centers.
“We need to lessen the violence that is happening in society right now; it’s tearing communities apart,” he said. “It’s ripping apart the social fabric of our society.”
Previous Protests at ICE Office
Mustafaa Carroll, D-FW executive director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, helped organize protests this year outside the Dallas ICE office. He said the protests were related to immigration enforcement, including the detention of activist Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident.
His organization also protested the detention of a 22-year-old woman who was returning from her honeymoon.
