❓WHAT HAPPENED: Eleven people were arrested after a “planned ambush” targeting corrections officers at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, on July 4.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Ten to 12 masked individuals dressed in black, law enforcement officers, and corrections officers at the Prairieland ICE detention facility.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Late at night on July 4, 2025, at the Prairieland ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Make no mistake; this was not a so-called ‘peaceful protest.’ It was, indeed, an ambush.” – Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson.
🎯IMPACT: Ten suspects face charges, including attempted murder of federal officers, with potential sentences ranging from ten years to life in prison. Another suspect faces charges related to evidence tampering.
Eleven suspects accused of orchestrating a violent attack on the Prairieland U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, have been arrested. The attack left a police officer with a gunshot wound to the neck; as of the time of publication, he is expected to recover.
The incident began around 10:37 PM when 10-12 suspects, some masked, defaced vehicles with graffiti reading “ICE pig” and “traitor” and set off fireworks near the facility. As two unarmed ICE corrections officers responded, an assailant fired 20-30 rounds at them, while another shot an arriving Alvarado police officer in the neck.
Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson explained that the vandalism and fireworks had been intended to lure federal agents into the open. Once law enforcement was drawn out, they were fired upon from a wooded area nearby.
“Today, my office has charged ten individuals with three counts of attempted murder of a federal officer,” Larson said. “Each of the ten are also charged with three counts of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Each of these defendants faces a mandatory prison term of ten years and up to life in prison. An additional co-conspirator was charged with an obstruction of justice and conspiracy for attempting to conceal and destroy evidence in relation to the attack, and he faces up to ten years in prison.”
She stressed that the attack “was a planned ambush with the intent to kill ICE corrections officers. Make no mistake; this was not a so-called ‘peaceful protest.’ It was, indeed, an ambush.”
Authorities recovered AR-15 rifles, body armor, and materials like a ‘Resist Fascism’ flag, and ‘Fight ICE terror’ and ‘Organising for Attack! Insurrectionary Anarchy’ fliers, suggesting an organized effort.
Meanwhile, a gunman was killed on Monday after entering the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol building near McAllen International Airport, Texas, and opening fire.
These incidents come in the same week as Axios reported Democrats were telling them their base has become increasingly radical, particularly on immigration, with one unnamed lawmaker telling the news outlet, “Some of them have suggested … what we really need to do is be willing to get shot.”
Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.
