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Just days before a gunman ambushed Border Patrol agents in McAllen, Texas, on Monday, congressional Democrats voted nearly uniformly against a resolution condemning the Los Angeles riots and the anti-ICE rhetoric that led to the tensions in June.
Michigan resident Ryan Louis Mosqueda, 27, was allegedly armed with tactical gear and a rifle when he opened fire on Border Patrol agents as they arrived at a Border Patrol annex facility in McAllen, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley on Monday. The gunman was killed, but a McAllen police officer was shot in the leg, and a Border Patrol agent and a staffer were also hurt, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The department said all three are in “non-critical condition.”
Law enforcement believes the attack was a purposeful ambush targeting Border Patrol officials, who play a different role than ICE but serve a major role in how the federal government enforces immigration and border policies.
All but seven Democrats voted against a resolution, championed by Rep. Young Kim and the California Republican delegation, on June 27, which passed, that “expresses gratitude” toward both local and federal law enforcement, including ICE.
“Peaceful protests are a constitutional right, but vandalism, looting, violence, and other crimes are not. Protecting public safety shouldn’t be controversial, which is why I am leading the California Republican delegation in a resolution to support law and order as we continue to see unrest,” Kim said in a statement at the time.
“I hope Governor Newsom can come together with President Trump to stop the riots, lower the temperature, and keep our communities safe,” she continued.
Still, the resolution sparked debate, as it said President Donald Trump was justified in sending the National Guard to Los Angeles amid civil unrest, which many Democratic leaders have argued acted as an instigator. Gov. Gavin Newsom even sued the administration over the deployment.
“The unrest in Los Angeles was sparked by Donald Trump’s reckless and inflammatory actions. Like Rep. Kim, we believe violence – especially against law enforcement – is never acceptable. That’s why the Governor condemned it over a dozen times, clearly and repeatedly, from the start, and sent state law enforcement to keep the peace. We look forward to Rep. Kim applying the same standard to a resolution condemning the January 6th insurrection and the brutal assault on U.S. Capitol police,” a spokesperson for Newsom told Fox News Digital at the time.
DHS attributes political rhetoric to the 700% surge in assaults on ICE agents. In Alvarado, Texas, 11 individuals are now facing charges for the “planned ambush” at the Prairieland Detention Center, which resulted in a local police officer being shot in the neck, according to Fox 4.
“What I have seen is a demand that we get ourselves arrested intentionally or allow ourselves to be victims of violence, and… a lot of times that’s coming from economically very secure White people,” a lawmaker told the outlet.
Some Democrats, like Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, were each arrested for protest actions involving ICE, and McIver recently pleaded “not guilty” for allegedly “impeding and interfering” with federal agents outside a Newark ICE detention facility in May.
Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
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