Overview
- Stephany Gauffeny says she received an approval letter for her late husband on Dec. 15 that was dated Dec. 9, authorizing him to proceed toward a visa or lawful permanent residency.
- Miguel Ángel García-Hernández was shot in a Sept. 24 sniper-style attack outside the Dallas ICE field office and died on Sept. 29, while another detainee was also killed and the suspected gunman died by suicide.
- García-Hernández had been in federal custody after an August DWI arrest, and a senior DHS official described him as an undocumented Mexican national with prior convictions including DWI and evading arrest.
- Gauffeny said the timing deepened her family’s grief near the holidays, noting they had waited years for progress on his case and that a child was born shortly after his death.
- USCIS had not responded to requests for comment in the reports, and local coverage noted ICE also had not commented; a family GoFundMe had raised more than $87,000 as of Dec. 18.