MSNBC Analyst Says Feds Wearing Masks Led to Escalated Rhetoric Ahead of Deadly ICE Shooting

MSNBC’s Rosa Flores said viral videos of ICE officials wearing masks and “tossing” suspected illegal immigrants into vehicles contributed to the “very divisive” atmosphere before a shooting at an ICE facility in Texas on Wednesday.

Flores, while appearing on Ana Cabrera Reports, had just heard law enforcement officials and state politicians comment on the attack at a press conference. Three people were shot at the facility, including two people fatally, and all were reportedly detainees.

One FBI official said rounds found near the suspected shooter contained “anti-ICE messages,” while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) ripped Democrats, urging them to accept “your political opponents are not Nazis,” before saying both Dems and Republicans should have “some decency” to say “this violence is wrong and it needs to stop.”

Flores, who is a national correspondent for MSNBC, said she agreed with the officials calling for less inflammatory language. The divisive public debate about immigration, she said, helped lay the foundation for Wednesday’s attack.

“It stood out to me, obviously, because we have seen the rhetoric escalate,” Flores said. “We’ve also seen the very dramatic videos of ICE nabbing individuals and tossing them into unmarked vehicles. A lot of these ICE officials have been masked. So it has been very divisive and there has been a lot of fear in the different communities where we’ve been reporting.”

“It is unfortunately just the most recent example of targeted violence,” he said.

The very same ICE facility was hit with a bomb threat in August, leading to a man’s arrest.

You can watch Flores share her thoughts above, via MSNBC.