DALLAS — The sun had not yet risen when A.parked his car in an empty parking lot next to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Dallas field office.
A. is a Colombian immigrant who requested NPR only use his first initial because of concerns that speaking publicly could affect his pending immigration case.
It was about 5:45 a.m. Thursday, almost exactly 24 hours after a shooter opened fire at the facility from a nearby rooftop, killing one ICE detainee and injuring two more. It's unclear the motive of the shooter, but Trump administration officials and the FBI have called it a targeted act of violence directed at immigration enforcement agents.
A. was traveling to Dallas from Los Angeles, where he lives, when the shooting happened. Still, he showed up early the next day for his immigration check in at that same facility. He did not know his appointment had been postponed, and he worried he'd get in trouble with ICE if he did not show up.
"I'm following the law," A. said. "I worry that, because of this issue, I will get a deportation order."
Marcos, a Venezuelan immigrant who also asked NPR only to use his first name because he has a pending immigration case, also showed up in the early hours to attend his check in. He did not know the facility had closed after Wednesday's attack, but had seen news of the shooting.
Marcos says he never got a notification from the federal government telling him about the facility's closing until Monday.
"I don't know what to do," Marcos said. "What will happen? Will ICE mark me down as absent or will they really give us a chance because they were closed?"
NPR asked ICE for an answer to these questions but the agency did not respond.
A missed check-in with ICE can increase risk of detention or automatic removal orders.
As the sun rose on Thursday, more and more immigrants showed up to the facility with their paperwork.
Immigration agents did not appear to be on sight at the time, and the only official instructions came from Dallas Police Department officers directing people trying to enter the parking lot.
Only one Dallas Police officer assisting with keeping the perimeter spoke Spanish, the most common language overheard among the people who showed up for their appointment. Patiently, he kept telling migrants to call their attorneys, or to call the phone number listed for the ICE facility, but he was quickly overwhelmed with questions.
"I came to an appointment … because you have to respect the law," Benjamin Bellorin, a 53-year-old Nicaraguan migrant told the officer in Spanish. "I'm scared."
Bellorin had driven more than two hours from Breckenridge, Texas to be at the facility for his scheduled check-in.
"I'm really sorry you had to drive so much," the officer said. "But unfortunately we can't let anybody in."
Bellorin said he didn't know who to call— he doesn't know how to read.
"Let me make a phone call," the officer told Bellorin. "My wife is an immigration attorney, and maybe she has a phone number [for you] to call."
The officer came back after a few minutes and gave him an email address for ICE. He told Bellorin to seek help sending that email.
"I heard y'all should come back on Monday," he said.
"I just want them to see that I came and showed up," replied Bellorin.
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