Trump accuses Democrats of inciting violence against ICE after Dallas shooting

President Donald Trump, who was a Democrat for eight years — 2001 to 2009 — is criticizing Democratic leaders for what he calls “reckless and dangerous rhetoric” against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, following a shooting at an ICE field office in Dallas, Texas.

In a statement published Friday on the White House website, Trump said the attack, in which a gunman allegedly used ammunition marked “ANTI-ICE” to target federal agents, is a result of the “deadly consequences of Democrats’ unhinged crusade against our border enforcement.” The shooting, according to authorities, appeared to be a direct attempt to harm ICE personnel.

Trump tied the violence to years of rhetoric from Democratic governors, members of Congress, and city leaders who have used inflammatory comparisons in their criticism of ICE’s immigration enforcement policies. The president pointed to comments from prominent Democrats who have likened ICE to Nazi Germany’s Gestapo, the SS, “slave patrols,” and “secret police.”

Among those singled out were Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, and members of the progressive “Squad” in Congress, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib. Trump also highlighted remarks from senior Democrats such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who have called for aggressive resistance to ICE or suggested the agency should be dismantled.

“Their words aren’t just reckless — they’re a battle cry for violence,” Trump wrote.

Here is the entire list of the the political figures Trump called out by name, writing that Democrats have spent years vilifying ICE as “fascists,” “the Gestapo,” and “slave patrols,” inciting a 1,000% surge in assaults on agents and a wave of radical left terror.

Their words aren’t just reckless — they’re a battle cry for violence, he said:

• Gov. Tim Walz smeared ICE as the “modern-day Gestapo.”
• Gov. Gavin Newsom likened ICE to “secret police,” calling them “authoritarian” and proclaiming a “right to push back.”
• Gov. JB Pritzker claimed the country is becoming “Nazi Germany” because ICE is“grabbing people off the street… and disappearing them.”
• Rep. Robin Kelly smeared ICE as the “Gestapo” and a “betrayal.”
• Rep. Jasmine Crockett compared ICE to “slave patrols.”
• Rep. Sylvia Garcia referred to ICE agents as “thugs.”
• Rep. Delia Ramirez attacked ICE as “a terror force.”
• Rep. Pramila Jayapal called ICE agents “deranged,” accused them of “kidnapping,” and said “resistance” to ICE is “inspiring.”
• Rep. Rashida Tlaib said ICE is “terrorizing our communities” and “turning our country into a fascist police state,” and called it a “rogue agency.”
• Rep. Ayanna Pressley said ICE is “terrorizing our communities.”
• Rep. Max Frost compared ICE operations to “some of the worst horrors and crimes against humanity” in history.
• Rep. John Larson said ICE is “the SS” and “the Gestapo.”
• Rep. LaMonica McIver incited people to “shut down the city” because “we are at war.”
• Rep. Stephen Lynch smeared ICE agents as “the Gestapo” and “nondescript thugs.”
• Rep. Dan Goldman compared federal agents to “secret police” who must be unmasked.
• Rep. Becca Balint called ICE agents “vigilantes” who can’t be trusted.
• Rep. Ilhan Omar said ICE agents are “vile and beyond cruel,” and that the agency should be abolished.
• Rep. Nikki Budzinski called ICE agents “dangerous and reckless.”
• Sen. Bernie Sanders asked people to “figure out a way to stop ICE from what they are doing as soon as possible.”
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren claimed ICE is “intentionally stok[ing] fear” and “tear[ing] communities apart.”
• Rep. Hakeem Jeffries implored people to “fight” the Trump Administration “in the streets” and declared ICE agents “will be unsuccessful” in protecting their identities “no matter what it takes.”
• Boston Mayor Michelle Wu compared ICE agents to the neo-Nazi group NSC-131.
• Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson accused ICE of being “secret police” who are “terrorizing our communities.”
• Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass spread a disgusting, fabricated hoax that ICE “kidnapped” a woman on her way to work.
• Rep. Gil Cisneros claimed ICE has “terrorized” people through “racial profiling.”
• Rep. Eric Swalwell said it was his “priority” to ensure ICE agents “are no longer faceless,” comparing them to “some 1800s bank robber or some KGB officer in Russia.”
• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said ICE “should not exist.”
• Rep. Kweisi Mfume challenged the Trump Administration to “a street fight.”
• Rep. Jerry Nadler accused ICE agents of “hiding misbehavior because otherwise why would they be wearing masks?”