Leavitt encourages AOC to meet with Border Patrol and tone down rhetoric in wake of Texas shooting

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday encouraged Democratic lawmakers, including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, to tone down rhetoric against U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in the wake of a shooting in Texas. 

A gunman in McAllen, Texas, was killed earlier Monday after firing on Border Patrol agents and injuring a police officer. The gunman was armed with tactical gear and a rifle and shot at Border Patrol agents as they arrived at a Border Patrol annex facility.

The shooting comes after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported earlier this month that attacks against federal immigration officers have increased by nearly 700% this year, compared to 2024, according to Fox News.

Leavitt told reporters in a press briefing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and Border Patrol agents deserve respect because they are "honorable Americans" who are doing their jobs.

"We certainly call on Democrats to tone down their rhetoric against ICE and Border Patrol agents, who, again, are everyday men and women," Leavitt said. "I would encourage AOC and other Democrats to actually meet with the United States Border Patrol.

"These are honorable Americans who are just simply trying to do their job to enforce the law," she continued. "They go home to their families every night, just like we all do, and they deserve respect and dignity for trying to enforce our nation's immigration laws and to remove public safety threats from our communities." 

The directed comment at Ocasio-Cortez comes after the congresswoman warned of an "explosion" in ICE arrests and deportations in the wake of President Donald Trump signing his "One Big Beautiful Bill."

"This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA, & others combined," Ocasio-Cortez posted on X.
"It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing."

Ocasio-Cortez has not commented on Monday's shooting so far, nor on another recent shooting in Texas last week when an officer was shot in the neck near ICE's Prairieland Detention Facility.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.