Fact check: ICE is providing emergency assistance to victims of Texas shooting

Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The claim: ICE is conducting immigration enforcement at the scene of the Texas shooting

After an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Texas killing 19 children and two adults, some online claim the victims' families have another roadblock ahead of them.

"ICE is on the scene of a shooting that took place in a heavily Hispanic school so undocumented parents have to consider arrest deportation before they go check to see if their kids are alive," reads a screenshot of a tweet shared to Instagram May 26.

The post generated over 20,000 likes in less than a day. The original tweet amassed over 50,000 likes. Similar posts have received hundreds of likes on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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But nothing of the sort will take place.

ICE is at the site of the shooting to provide assistance and relief to families. It will not engage in any immigration enforcement-related activities there, the agency said.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment.

ICE is providing assistance to victims, families

ICE will not conduct "immigration enforcement activities" on the site of the shooting in Ulvade, Texas, according to a May 25 statement from the Department of Homeland Security, which ICE is part of.

ICE activities would typically include preventing unlawful entry to the U.S. and apprehending or deporting "noncitizens who have violated or failed to comply with U.S. immigration laws," according to the DHS website.

Fact check: Image of transgender woman falsely identified as Texas shooting suspect Salvador Ramos

But the Texas site is considered a "protected area," which means ICE will provide emergency assistance to people there regardless of immigration status, the statement says. Individuals can reunify with their families and seek other forms of relief.

A branch of ICE is also there to support the ongoing investigations.

When asked for comment, an ICE spokesperson referred USA TODAY to the DHS statement.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that ICE is conducting immigration enforcement at the scene of the Texas shooting. The agency is at the scene to provide assistance to victims and families, and will not conduct immigration enforcement-related activities on site.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: ICE is assisting in Texas, not enforcing immigration laws

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