Catholic politicians and bishops are asking for prayers and the end of political violence after two ICE detainees were killed and another was seriously injured in a shooting in an installation of the Customs Immigration and Control Service (ICE) in Dallas, Texas (United States) on Wednesday, Wednesday, September 24.
Police sources point out that the shooter, identified as Joshua Jahn, 2 years old, was armed with a roof rifle and took his life shortly after 6:30 am, According to the Secretary of National Security, Kristi Noem. No ICE agent was injured in the attack.
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FBI’s special agent Joseph Rothrock said during a press conference this morning that in the ammunition found near the deceased shooter there were inscriptions with messages against ICE.
Eric Johnson, Republican Mayor of Dallas, began the press conference asking everyone to pray with him: “Let me start by saying that I am a person who believes very, very firmly in the power of prayer and in which the prayer changes things.”
“And that’s why I am going to ask everyone to join me to pray for the families of the people who lost their lives today. They pray for the prompt recovery of those who were injured or injured in what happened today, but perhaps even more, we are a country and a city that need prayer,” said Johnson.
In a publication in the social network X This morning, American vice president JD Vance said: “The obsessive attack against forces of order must cease, particularly against Ice. I am praying for all the injured in this attack and for their families.”
Several Catholic bishops have also expressed their dismay for violence and have asked the people to pray.
The Archbishop of San Francisco, Mons. Salvatore Cordileone, described the violence that occurred this morning in “meaningless” and “politically motivated” in A publication on social networks.
The prelate wrote that policy changes could be necessary, but that “they are not enough,” and added: “This is, in its nucleus, a spiritual crisis. It takes a lot of prayer, in fact, it is essential. It is not an irrelevant ornament or an excuse to simply recognize the tragedy and move on. Without help from the top, there is no way out.”
He quoted Erika Kirk, whose husband, conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk, was recently killed in Utah: “‘Choose prayer, choose value, choose beauty, choose the adventure, choose the family. Choose a life of faith. And most importantly, choose Christ.'”
The Bishop of Arlington, Virginia, Mons. Michael Burbidge, also asked for sentences for the victims In a publication in social networks: “The murder of two migrants by an armed man in an ICE installation in Dallas today is the last sign of the desperate need for the United States.
The shooting took place on the third day of the National Migration Week of the United States Catholic Bishop Conference (USCCB), a time in which Catholics are called “reflecting on our history as an immigrants church and the ways in which our country has been enriched by generations of immigrants, including the numerous Catholics who have adopted this land as their own.”
“At a time when our culture is dominated by deep political divisions and reasonable disagreements on immigration policy, progress may seem impossible,” says the USCCB website. “But giving testimony of the dignity given by God to each person, including migrants and refugees in the midst of us, we tag the way to an approach rooted in mercy, justice and the common good.”
The USCCB has asked Catholics to sign the Cabrini commitment as “a reminder of our immigrant heritage and a call to a deeper commitment to our faith in response to current events.”
At this morning’s press conference, Senator Ted Cruz, from Texas, said that political violence “has to end”, remembering that the incident is the third shooting in Texas in recent months against ICE and the US Customs and Border Protection Office.
“To politicians who demand that the personal data of ICE agents be disseminated: ‘Enough!'” Said Cruz. “We disagree, and that is part of the (political) process in the United States, but their political opponents are not Nazis.”
Cruz requested prayer for the safety of order forces, “who risk their lives to stay alive,” and for the victims and their families.
“Violence does not take place, it is wrong,” Cruz continued. He said that immigration debates can occur in the “corridors of Congress, without demonizing each other, and especially without demonizing men and women who keep us safe.”
Texas governor, Greg Abbott, said In a publication in social networks This morning that the State “fully support ICE,” and said that the incident “will not slow down our arrest, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants.”
He also said that the State would work with the Local Police and ICE to discover the reason for the shooter.
According to An ICE data CNN analysis From a research group affiliated with the Law School of the University of California in Berkeley, the installation of ICE in Dallas generally houses “several dozen” of detainees at the same time. Throughout the first six months of the Trump Administration (according to the data analyzed, they cover until the end of July), it housed more than 8,000 people detained temporarily.
Most of the installation detainees were kept in retention rooms for less than a day, or an average of 14 hours, before being transferred to longer -term detention centers or other ICE facilities.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.
Amira Abuzeid
Amira Abuzeid ES Publisher Senior en Catholic News Agency.