Tragic Shooting at ICE Facility Claims Life of Miguel García-Hernández

On September 24, 2025, Miguel García-Hernández, a 31-year-old undocumented immigrant, was shot during a targeted attack outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas, Texas. The gunman, Joshua Jahn, opened fire while García-Hernández was shackled inside a government van, awaiting intake. The shooting resulted in the deaths of two detainees, including García-Hernández, who succumbed to his injuries five days later on September 29. The attack was described by authorities as a targeted assault on ICE officials, but it primarily affected detainees.

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García-Hernández, originally from San Luis Potosí, Mexico, had lived in the Dallas area for nearly two decades. He worked as a painter and had applied for the Biden administration's Keeping Families Together initiative, which aimed to provide legal status to undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens. However, this initiative faced legal challenges, and a federal judge in Texas blocked it shortly after its implementation. García-Hernández was in the process of seeking a waiver to rectify his immigration status based on his marriage to American citizen Stephany Gauffeny.

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In her first interview since her husband's death, Gauffeny expressed profound sorrow over the loss of García-Hernández and the impact on their three children. She recounted the difficulty of explaining his absence to their eight-year-old daughter, who has autism. Gauffeny noted that the political climate surrounding immigration and rising anti-immigrant sentiment may have contributed to the violence that led to her husband's death. “There’s so much hate going on with immigrants and ICE now... it has certainly played a part in his death,” she stated.

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Gauffeny and her attorney, Eric Cedillo, have raised concerns about the broader implications of the political environment under the Trump administration, which has seen an increase in immigration raids and anti-immigrant rhetoric. Following the shooting, Gauffeny received hateful messages on social media, with some expressing approval of García-Hernández's death due to his undocumented status. This reflects a troubling trend of violence and hostility towards immigrants in the current political climate.

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The Mexican government intervened to allow García-Hernández's mother, Maria García, who had been deported earlier, to visit her son in the hospital before his death. In a statement, Mexico's foreign ministry confirmed that an extraordinary humanitarian parole was arranged for her. However, there has been no information regarding economic assistance for Gauffeny to cover funeral expenses.

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• “I am trying to cope because that’s what I am supposed to do, but what hurts me the most is to hear my kids ask where daddy is,” — Stephany Gauffeny, Widow

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• “There’s so much hate going on with immigrants and ICE now, so it has crossed my mind if this would have happened under a different administration. It has certainly played a part in his death,” — Stephany Gauffeny, Widow

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• “He talked about little projects like turning the garage into a room, painting some parts of the house, getting a new fence and doing it all by himself,” — Stephany Gauffeny, Widow

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Gauffeny and her attorney are contemplating filing a lawsuit related to the circumstances of García-Hernández's death. The case highlights ongoing concerns about the treatment of undocumented immigrants and the implications of political violence in the United States.

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