Authorities say multiple armed individuals were arrested after a police officer was wounded late Friday night outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Texas.
According to a statement from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, the incident happened outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas.
Approximately 28 miles south of Fort Worth, the detention facility houses individuals who are either awaiting deportation or are suspected of breaking immigration laws.
According to the sheriff’s office, Alvarado Police Department officers noticed someone who looked to be carrying a gun when they responded to a complaint about a suspicious individual outside the detention facility at approximately 11 p.m. on July 4.
A number of people opened fire on the police after he attempted to speak with the guy; the officer was shot in the neck and taken to a hospital. According to the sheriff’s office, the officer received medical attention and was released from the hospital.
According to the statement, a number of persons attempted to escape but were apprehended by police. On Sunday morning, it was unclear how many people had been arrested or if they were still being held.
According to the sheriff’s office, the suspects’ motivations are currently unknown.
A request for comment on Sunday was not immediately answered by the Department of Homeland Security, which is in charge of ICE.
When asked how many persons were arrested on Sunday, the sheriff’s office did not reply. Also unresponsive was the Alvarado Police Department.
The deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, posted on social media that the Justice Department was keeping an eye on the shooting and similar event in Portland, Oregon.
According to Mr. Blanche, the department will apply the full force of the law to people who harm federal personnel or property because it has zero tolerance for such behavior.
Although he did not say what was being watched in Portland, protests have been taking place outside an ICE field office there for months.
According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, the largely nonviolent protests intensified last month when President Trump sent Marines and National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles.
During a protest at the building on June 14, the Portland Police Bureau declared a riot and took three people into custody. According to the police, one federal officer was hurt during the demonstrations but did not need medical attention.
Detention centers around the nation are overcrowded as a result of the Trump administration’s increased immigration enforcement.
People who worked in the facility, together with their loved ones and attorneys, told The New York Times that the conditions there were cruel and unhygienic. All allegations of overcrowding and subpar conditions at its facilities were refuted by the Department of Homeland Security.
The domestic policy bill signed into law by President Trump on Friday includes $31 billion for ICE and $45 billion to increase the capacity of immigration detention facilities.
