Four council members said they want city staff to study, among other things, ways “to hold federal law enforcement accountable.”
SAN ANTONIO — When 180 residents signed up to speak to San Antonio City Council about local ICE operations in a lengthy January meeting, the vast majority of them condemning the federal agency’s actions, frustration was largely channeled through the lens of what has been unfolding in Minneapolis in recent weeks.
Less than a third that number registered to address council two weeks later, at a public session gathering on Wednesday evening that was scheduled independently of any official business members would be voting on. Like the Jan. 22 meeting, most weren’t just there to discuss ICE; there was near-unanimous condemnation.
But with the quickly developing news that the federal government had bought a 640,000-square-foot east-side “mega warehouse” intended to be used as an ICE detention facility, the speakers on Wednesday appeared more forceful, urgent, and passionate in their comments to Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and other city leaders.
Expletives were tossed. Multiple speakers called what was to come to the facility off Loop 410 and East Houston Street a “concentration camp.” Jones at one point had to warn speakers against personal attacks when one referenced a council member’s past DWI case.
“You want us to sit down, follow the law and comply with federal orders,” said one speaker, Jay Mazzella. “But the orders are unjust. ICE actions are unconstitutional and y’all are OK with them being in our city, hurting our people.”
At the Jan. 22 meeting, specifically placed on the schedule to foster “transparent dialogue” about ICE in San Antonio, city staff underscored what is and isn’t within the city’s legal means when it comes to ICE activity. They pointed to Senate Bill 4, the crucial “anti-sanctuary” law passed by Texas legislators in 2017 requiring that local governments cooperate with federal agencies when it comes to enforcing federal immigration policy.
That means that, as San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said in January, while the department’s is “public safety alone, not immigration enforcement,” it must respond to ICE personnel’s requests for assistance. That happened twice in immigration-related operations in 2025.
City staff earlier this week told KENS 5 they weren’t aware of an imminent deal for Oakmont Industrial Group to sell the warehouse at 418 SE Loop 410 to the U.S. government; that purchase was finalized Tuesday for $66.1 million, according to county records. And they warned the city would be unable to put up zoning or permitting hurdles because the federal government was involved.
Still, even before the warehouse was bought for what ICE says will be a “very well-structured” detention facility, some council members started to publicly share what they would like to see happen in response to residents’ concerns about ICE. City staff briefed council members Thursday about some of its options.
Now a contingent of progressive-leaning leaders are hoping to keep the public conversation going.
Council members Edward Mungia, Teri Castillo, Ric Galvan and Jalen McKee-Rodriguez on Thursday submitted a four-signature memo calling for a special meeting focused on “the evaluation of strategies to protect all San Antonians.”
Included in that memo was a list of studies the City Council quartet said they’d like city staff to undertake, including examining if it would be within the City of San Antonio’s power to install a “moratorium on the establishment for non-municipal detention facilities,” an action item that appears directed at ICE’s warehouse transaction.
“While I will continue to urge residents to organize and contact federal officials to stop this facility from becoming a detention center, we have an obligation to take every little step we can to protect the safety, well-being and dignity of our residents,” McKee-Rodriguez, whose district includes where the ICE detention center is slated to be established, said in a statement.
The council members also want staff to address whether “facilities and activities” following any applicable federal laws; whether federal lawmakers can craft a bill to prevent a detention facility in San Antonio; the “establishment of public signage information residents and business owners of their rights”; training city staff on their “rights and responsibilities” as it pertains to “the prevention of harm caused by immigration enforcement”; and pursuing a report on the contributions of migrants to the local economy.
“Lastly, we request staff evaluate opportunities to hold federal law enforcement accountable,” the memo concludes. “It is our intent that we evaluate every possible tool at our disposal and present, clearly and publicly, our path forward.”
The memo, directed to City Manager Erik Walsh, was also sent to Mayor Jones and other council members, City Clerk Debbie Racca-Sittre, and City Attorney Andy Segovia.
Before putting a formal special meeting on the calendar, Walsh appears to be putting it up to full council for a vote. According to the Feb. 12 A-Session agenda, City Council will vote on a resolution supporting the four council members’ united call for the studies and evaluations.
This is a developing story.