AUSTIN, Texas — Immigration enforcement and border security are emerging as issues in the U.S. Senate race after a Venezuelan man was shot by an ICE agent in North Austin Sunday. During a Texas Tribune Festival appearance Thursday, Democratic nominee James Talarico laid out his broader approach to immigration.
Talarico appeared Thursday at the Texas Tribune Festival, where he spoke broadly about immigration and argued that security and a welcoming system do not have to be treated as competing goals.
“We can have a system that keeps out people who mean to do us harm and welcomes folks who want to contribute to this nation. That is absolutely possible,” Talarico said.
The renewed focus on immigration comes after Venezuelan national Wilber Garces Perez was shot by an ICE agent in North Austin Sunday. Talarico did not specifically mention Sunday’s ICE-involved shooting during his Thursday appearance, but he had reacted to the incident earlier on social media.
In a post on X after the shooting, Talarico wrote, in part: “This isn’t law enforcement. It’s lawlessness.”
At the festival, Talarico said voters are frustrated by what he described as a forced choice between enforcement and compassion.
“I think what people are tired of is those two things being pitted against each other. Of us being told, you gotta pick between security and welcoming the stranger. And we don’t have to pick between those things,” Talarico said.
Several high-profile Texas Republicans, including Ken Paxton, Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz, have not publicly commented on the shooting.
James Henson, Director of the Texas Politics Project, said Republican voters are unlikely to be swayed by criticism of immigration enforcement.
“Republican voters are likely to be reserving judgment on what happened here. They favor strict immigration enforcement and are probably not gonna be moved by criticism here very much,” Henson said.
Henson said it is unclear whether the incident will affect polling as the November election approaches, but he suggested it could be more politically useful for Democrats than Republicans.
“I think we’ll see when we see polling numbers. I think it probably doesn’t have a huge impact that we’ll be able to trace directly to this. I think ultimately it’s better story for Democrats than it is for Republicans when it comes to both of their efforts to win in November,” Henson said.
The Texas Tribune said it invited Paxton to speak at the festival this week but had not heard back from his team. Paxton’s campaign also had not responded to a request for comment about Sunday’s ICE-involved shooting as of Thursday afternoon. Talarico also challenged Paxton to a debate on Fox News.