Texas elected officials and candidates’ response to the deadly shooting in downtown Austin on Sunday quickly turned political, as Republicans sharply criticized the country’s naturalization process and Democrats called for stricter gun reform laws.
Republicans’ rebukes of the immigration system came after media outlets identified the gunman, whom police killed within a minute of arriving at the scene, as a naturalized citizen from Senegal. The Department of Homeland Security said the man entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2000, became a lawful permanent resident by marrying a U.S. citizen in 2006 and was naturalized in 2013.
Shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday, the gunman killed two people and injured 14 others at a bar that sits among several popular nightlife venues on West 6th Street.
Many Texas Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, suggested the gunman wasn’t properly backgrounded before he was granted U.S. citizenship, but did not provide details of what should have prevented his naturalization. When asked about his criminal history, DHS only said the man was arrested in Texas in 2022, after he was a citizen, for “collision with vehicle damage,” a misdemeanor crime typically given when someone leaves the scene of a wreck.
The New York Post reported that the gunman, 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, was arrested for “illegal vending” in New York City in 2001. Citing unnamed sources, The Post said he was arrested in New York three other times between 2008 and 2016, but those cases are sealed. The Post did not report on whether he was convicted of any crimes.
At least one GOP candidate for attorney general has called for an audit into immigrants who are in the country legally.
“Audit all ‘legal’ immigrants’ papers and deport as many as possible,” Aaron Reitz said on X.
Reitz and others also voiced their opposition to Islam, which has become a key campaign pillar for some Texas Republicans competing in Tuesday’s GOP primary. The gunman wore a sweatshirt emblazoned with the words “Property of Allah” and a shirt with a design of the Iranian flag, according to the Associated Press. The shooting happened after the United States and Israel bombed Iran.
Austin police did not disclose a motive for the shooting, but the FBI is investigating it as a potential act of terrorism, the Associated Press reported late Sunday.
The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an American Muslim civil rights group, condemned the attack in a statement Sunday and rejected any efforts to blame the whole community based on one individual’s action.
“We encourage elected officials, law enforcement, faith leaders, and community members to come together to support the families of the victims and reaffirm our shared commitment to public safety,” the organization’s statement said.
Abbott and state Rep. James Talarico, an Austin Democrat running for U.S. Senate, quarreled on X about the shooting. Abbott said that “allowing unvetted immigrants who are hostile to America, who are loyal to our adversaries like Iran, must end. This was an act of terror, James.”
“The way to end it is to end the current open immigration policies,” he continued. “You and your immigration policies would make America less safe.”
Talarico responded to Abbott by saying “dangerous people should not be allowed into the country. Dangerous people should not be allowed to get guns. Texans understand this — you apparently don’t.”
Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock criticized Talarico on X for politicizing the incident.
“With all due respect sir – now is not the time. All of the information has not come out. How can policy be made on incomplete information?” he said. “The action that needed to happen did – officers heroically ended the violence.”
“This applies to all candidates and elected officials regardless of party,” he continued. “Now is the time to focus on the victims and first responders impacted, not campaigns.”
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, who is also running for the GOP nomination to be state attorney general, posted alleged details about the gunman’s immigration to America and naturalization. He said the gunman was granted legal residency during George W. Bush’s administration, “amid GOP celebration of the joys of ‘melting pot’ legal immigration.”
“This is why we are losing our country, our immigration system is a joke, and should PAUSE ALL immigration,” Roy said.
Naturalization is the legal process of becoming a citizen after meeting certain requirements.
Denise Gilman, director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin, said there has long been extensive vetting in the naturalization process, including criminal background checks. She also said immigrants can’t immediately become citizens without first going through prior steps, such as becoming a lawful permanent resident, that require scrutiny.
“Naturalization is just the last step of many steps that all require vetting,” she said.
Immigrants are eligible for naturalization if they are 18 years old or older and have been green card holders for at least five years (three years if they are married to a U.S. citizen). They also have to take tests proving they’re able to speak, read and write in English. As of last fall, the Trump administration added more requirements, such as a more rigorous civics test, and having to prove to an immigration officer that they are “a person of good moral character.”
When asked about Diagne’s reported arrests, Gilman said generally arrests can be considered when evaluating moral character or discretion but will not automatically bar green card status or naturalization. Certain convictions, however, may result in actual bars.
“It really depends on the nature of the crimes involved,” she said.
Around 818,500 people were naturalized in the fiscal year of 2024, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which has not published 2025 data yet — nearly 10% lived in Texas. The total was a 7% decrease from 2023, the agency said. From 2022 to 2024, the country has added more than 2.6 million new citizens through naturalization.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who is up for reelection this year, said on Fox News that the shooting underscores “the importance of vetting people before they come across the border,” and is an example of “what happens when people become radicalized.”
Cornyn blamed the Biden administration for having “open border policies that let who knows what into the country,” Cornyn said.
Texas Democrats, meanwhile, responded to the shooting by pushing for stronger gun laws, but did not provide specifics on what policies would have prevented the man from obtaining weapons. Austin police also did not release details on how the man obtained the two firearms they say he used in the shooting.
Republicans control both chambers of the Texas Legislature and have routinely loosened gun restrictions while Democrats’ bills to curb access gain little traction.
Austin-based U.S. Reps. Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett also denounced gun violence, but did not issue any specific policy proposals.
“We must end America’s gun violence epidemic,” Casar said in a post on X. “Americans should be able to have fun at a bar without it turning into an unspeakable nightmare like this one — and I will redouble my efforts in Congress to prevent the next tragedy like this.”
Doggett said: “Gun violence is preventable. This devastating loss of life was preventable. Until Republicans find the courage to say no to the [National Rifle Association] our country will be plagued with more tragedies.”
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