Passions ran high at San Antonio City Hall on Thursday afternoon, where 180 people signed up to speak. Most decried the actions and presence of ICE in the city.
SAN ANTONIO — One hundred and eighty people signed up to speak during the public comments portion of a special City Council meeting to discuss immigration enforcement and federal operations in San Antonio, but Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones was forced to call a recess before the first speaker was done with his remarks.
Bexar County Commissioner Grant Moody kicked off what’s expected to be hours of public comments Thursday, but he was interrupted by jeers from a packed City Hall when he said “there should be zero tolerance for attacks on those who serve, whether they wear the uniform of SAPD, BCSO, FBI, ICE or any other federal agency.”
It was the mention of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that sparked outcry from the crowd nearly immediately, with one person yelling out, “They’re breaking the law and murdering people.” Another was heard imploring Moody to “sit down!”
Jones warned that spectators face the risk of being escorted out if they weren’t respectful. A few minutes later, when the crowd prevented Moody from continuing, she called for a 15-minute break.
The episode came early in what turned out to be a passionate and, at times, tense special meeting called by Jones in order to have a “transparent dialogue” between leaders and community members about ICE operations in San Antonio. Some in attendance voiced support for and others against that immigration enforcement.
Police Chief William McManus addressed the council before public comment began, emphasizing that the San Antonio Police Department does not enforce federal immigration laws.
“Our role is public safety alone, not immigration enforcement,” McManus said.
McManus said that in 2025, SAPD assisted in immigration-related operations only twice, and solely by providing scene or perimeter security at the request of federal agencies. He added that when SAPD takes enforcement action, it is based on criminal warrants, not civil immigration violations.
City staff pointed to to Senate Bill 4, an “anti-sanctuary” state law passed in 2017 which requires that San Antonio cooperate with federal agencies when it comes to enforcement of federal immigration policy; the city is also forbidden from passing policies that interfere with those law enforcement activities.
“I’m very sensitive to SB 4 issues,” McManus said. “But I’m also very sensitive to community sentiment and concerns about this.”
Out of more than 51,000 SAPD arrestees in 2025, ICE issued detainers to 111 of them; that means local police are required to notify ICE if they’re released, and transfer them to Bexar County custody if higher charges are a factor.
And, city data shows, 258 of 1.8 million calls SAPD responded to in 2025 “resulted in reports including the word ‘immigration.'” Of those 258 cases, 161 resulted in no federal involvement.
PHOTOS: Frustration flare at City Council meeting called to discuss federal immigration enforcement in San Antonio
‘It creates chaos’
Several speakers spoke forcefully against ICE and federal immigration enforcement, arguing that cooperation with federal agencies undermines trust within immigrant communities.
“Why are we asking the trained and accountable to protect the untrained and negligent?” one speaker asked, drawing cheers from parts of the crowd.
Some in the crowd brought signs reflecting their sentiments. Others still wore their message on their clothing. One speaker wore a T-shirt reading “Rise up against injustice”; at another point in the meeting, a man verbally sparring with audience members held a sign reading “ICE = law & order.”
Another community member, Ananda Tomas, executive director of ACT4SA, said San Antonio families have experienced loss due to federal immigration operations “for months.”
“Make no mistake, when immigrant mothers hesitate to call 911 during emergencies… that’s not public safety,” Tomas said. “It is state-sponsored terror.”
Former San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who is currently running for Bexar County judge, also addressed the council. He warned that immigration enforcement partnerships can have unintended consequences.
“It doesn’t create safety,” Nirenberg said. “It creates chaos.”
Jones was forced to call additional brief recesses as the jeers returned at other points in the meeting. The brunt of those outcries were directed at those speaking in support of ICE, which made up a smaller number of Thursday’s speakers.
“Law enforcement works. Order works,” said one such speaker, Joe Garza. “(SAPD personnel) need to security ICE, they need to secure the protesters, they need to keep them separate and let ICE do their job… I ask you to please work with ICE, not against.”
Not all 180 individuals who signed up to speak make it to the podium; some left early in what ended up being a nearly six-hour public comment portion of the meeting. But the vast majority of those who signed up to speak did so or yielded their time so others could speak longer.
Public comment wrapped up at 7:20 p.m.
Councilman: ‘ICE doesn’t belong here’
During council discussion on the matter, first-term Councilman Edward Mungia said ICE’s tactics represented “another ugly side of violence of this country’s history.”
He spoke out against the federal agency – at one point saying that “ICE doesn’t belong here” – and said he would like to see details about local ICE “raids,” as well as requests to local leaders by ICE personnel, posted online for transparency. That suggestion was met by applause from spectators.”
Most council members shared similar sentiments, with Councilman Ric Galvan saying he also would like to see more steps being taken toward transparency of the federal agency’s local operations.
Councilwoman Teri Castillo connected the discussion to what’s unfolding at the state and national level.
“What we’re seeing play out in Texas and across the nation is textbook fascism,” she said.
Councilman Marc Whyte, acknowledging that “when we’re talking about immigration, we’re talking about… the identity of our country,” tried to shift frustrations away from ICE and towards lawmakers. He said it was his hope “we will calm the rhetoric.”
“It’s Congress that needs to do its job and pass comprehensive immigration reform,” Whyte said, while calling for an immigration system that is “efficient and fair for all.”
To that point, however, Mungia said that the judicial and legislative branches of government “have ceded their authority to the Executive Branch.”
Jones ended council discussion by saying City Council is committed to transparency as well as helping facilitate “the greatest amount of public safety achievable at this point in time.”
She adjourned the meeting after telling City Manager Erik Walsh and City Attorney Andy Segovia that she was anticipating their follow-ups regarding the suggestions posted by council members.
Growing tensions
The meeting comes at a time of particularly strong scrutiny of the agency after ICE agents shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this month, during a period of heightened operations.
But the local tensions go back to last summer, when ramped-up ICE enforcement led to reports of roundups at courthouses in San Antonio and elsewhere. Community concerns were renewed in November, when more than 140 were detained along San Pedro in a middle-of-the-night operation stemming from a federal investigation into one suspected drug dealer. Of those, 51 were found to be Tren de Aragua gang members; political leaders have called for authorities for information about the others who were taken away..
More recently, a 25-year-old Cuban citizen was arrested who allegedly rammed into ICE vehicles outside a Walmart in San Antonio as authorities were trying to arrest him. Tuesday brought the latest in a series of anti-ICE demonstrations as more than 100 peacefully gathered outside City Hall to voice opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies, marking one year since the start of the president’s second term.