BREAKING: Survivors of Hudspeth Shooting Released from ICE Custody

For Immediate Release: October 24, 2022

El Paso, Texas – As of today, eight Mexican migrants who survived the Sheppard brothers’ violent, hateful attack have been released from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in El Paso after close to four weeks in detention. The Sept. 27 attack resulted in one man being murdered by gunfire and another woman being seriously injured after she was shot in the stomach. 

The release comes after weeks of efforts to secure their release from the El Paso Processing Center, where the migrants were held despite internal guidance by ICE encouraging the release of crime victims. 

Zoe Bowman, Supervising Attorney of the Detained Deportation Defense Team at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center shared the following statement: 

“Eight witnesses to the murder committed by Mark and Mike Sheppard have been freed from ICE custody. By detaining the victims of this crime in prison-like facilities for almost a month, officials with the Biden administration inflicted further harm on top of the white supremacist violence of the shooters. However, even as we celebrate their release, we remain deeply concerned by the racist violence plaguing our country. The use of violence by white supremacists has become more common, threatening the dignity and lives of Black, brown and Indigenous migrants in our borderlands. 

Like the Walmart shooting three years ago, this attack was a hate crime and should be recognized as such by law enforcement. There is a clear need for the Department of Justice to open a hate crime investigation in this case.”