A tragic incident at a Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility last week has claimed a second life, with detainee Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez succumbing to his injuries on Tuesday. His passing was confirmed by his grieving family and the Hispanic civil rights group, LULAC, adding another layer of sorrow to an already devastating event.
Garcia-Hernandez had been fighting for his life on critical support since a sniper launched an attack on the facility from a nearby rooftop. While law enforcement authorities characterized the assault as a targeted act against federal immigration agents, all of the individuals shot were, tragically, detainees.
For two decades, Garcia-Hernandez had called the United States home, despite lacking legal immigration status. His detention at the facility stemmed from an arrest on August 8th for driving under the influence.
His wife, Stephany Gauffeny, shared a poignant statement, remembering him as "a good man, a loving father, and the provider for our family." She recounted their recent milestone of purchasing their first home together and his dedication to ensuring their children's well-being. "His death is a senseless tragedy that has left our family shattered," Gauffeny expressed, grappling with the impossible task of explaining their father's absence to their four children, aged 3, 8, 12, and 14. The couple was also eagerly anticipating their fifth child, with Gauffeny being 39 weeks pregnant. She tearfully recalled their last conversation about future plans for the baby, a dream now cruelly unfulfilled.
Garcia-Hernandez's death follows that of 37-year-old Norlan Guzmán Fuentes, an El Salvadoran national, who also died in the same shooting. A third detainee, Jose Andres Bordones-Molina from Venezuela, sustained injuries in the assault.
In the aftermath of the attack, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not provide immediate comment. However, an earlier statement to NPR from ICE referred to the three victims as "criminal illegal aliens," a term that has drawn criticism from advocates.
Authorities have identified the suspected shooter as Joshua Jahn, a 29-year-old who reportedly died from a self-inflicted wound. According to Nancy Larson, the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Jahn's intention was to "terrorize" ICE agents. However, the tragic reality is that the violence instead claimed the lives and injured the most vulnerable individuals within the facility: the detainees.
---
Originally published at: https://www.npr.org/2025/09/30/g-s1-91267/dallas-ice-facility-second-detainee-died
