MSNBC reporter suggests ICE created fear, division by masking up and using unmarked cars prior to shooting
MSNBC correspondent Rosa Flores said Wednesday that the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have contributed to fear and division ahead of the shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas.
During a segment on "Ana Cabrera Reports," Flores said people have called for lowering anti-ICE rhetoric from Democratic figures after the shooting. She also noted that ICE tactics such as wearing masks and using unmarked vehicles have contributed to hostility toward the agency.
"It stood out to me, obviously, because we have seen just the rhetoric escalate," Flores told her MSNBC colleagues. "We’ve also seen the very dramatic videos of ICE nabbing individuals and tossing them into unmarked vehicles. A lot of these ICE officials have been masked."
A gunman opened fire on an ICE facility from a nearby rooftop in Dallas on Wednesday morning, killing two detainees and injuring another before taking his own life, according to police.
Authorities identified the suspected gunman as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn. A photo shared on X by FBI Director Kash Patel showed what appeared to be rifle-caliber ammunition in a magazine, engraved with an "anti-ICE" message.
The engraving suggested the attack was politically motivated, prompting public figures to urge Democratic leaders to tone down rhetoric towards ICE.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday's attack targeted law enforcement and accused the Democratic Party of encouraging it.
"The epidemic of leftist political violence must end. Democrats have fostered an environment of evil, emboldening radicals to kill, steal, and destroy. But we will never surrender," he said.
Vice President JD Vance called for an end to "obsessive attacks" on law enforcement, particularly ICE.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blamed anti-ICE rhetoric from the far left for the shooting.
"These horrendous killings must serve as a wake-up call to the far left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences," Noem wrote on X. "Comparing ICE day in and day out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols has consequences," she added. "The men and women of ICE are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, they just want to go home to their families at night."
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DHS said in July that assaults on ICE officials had risen 830% between Jan. 21 and July 14, 2025, compared with the same period in 2024.
Agents have resorted to wearing masks to protect their identities during operations, sparking outrage among Democrats. Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., signed a bill over the weekend banning state and federal law enforcement from wearing masks on the job, a move Trump administration officials called illegal and vowed to ignore. The law takes effect in January.
Trump administration officials defended the practice, saying federal immigration agents have been increasingly harassed in public and online.
While on-air, Flores acknowledged concerns that rhetoric has fueled fear and hostility toward ICE. She also said masking and the use of unmarked vehicles contribute to this.
"So, it has been very divisive and there has been a lot of fear in the different communities where we’ve been reporting," she said. "And so the call for the decrease in that division and that rhetoric is what really stood out to me."
DHS told Fox News Digital said immigration officials are putting their lives on the line everyday.
"Make no mistake, this type of rhetoric is contributing to the surge in assaults of officers through their repeated vilification and demonization," the spokesperson said. "Not only is ICE law enforcement facing a more than 1,000 percent increase in assaults, but we’ve also seen thugs launch websites to reveal officers’ identity. We will prosecute those who dox our agents to the fullest extent of the law."