The DEA confirmed enforcement actions were conducted in San Antonio, Austin, McAllen and the Houston area.
SAN ANTONIO — There’s growing fear and anxiety among the local migrant community following targeted enforcement operations carried out in a multi-agency operation Sunday.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed with KENS 5’s sister station KVUE that operations were conducted in Austin on Sunday alongside the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in an effort to “enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities.”
Raids were carried out in Austin, McAllen, San Antonio and the Houston area.
Dianne Garcia, pastor at the church Roca de Refugio, wasn’t personally aware of any raids occurring in San Antonio on Sunday. But she stressed there’s still much worry felt by those she interacts with throughout the week. Many of them are migrants and have family members in limbo after the CBP One program was shut down.
“There’s a lot of anxiety and kind of living this uncertainty of what might happen next,” Garcia said, who also is the head of Nuevos Vecinos, a non-profit focused on helping migrant families. “Someone was saying at any moment someone knocks on my door, and I feel like this could be it.”
Through the uncertainty, Garcia has been trying to provide a sense of calm for families through faith.
“We talk a lot about keeping hope and faith, being patient and trying to take things one day at a time,” Garcia said. “Know your rights documents, and we’re trying to provide workshops and times where people can get their asylum applications filled in.”
As for how Garcia would react if ICE came knocking on the church doors?
“No, I don’t think I would comply,” she said. “I think I would attempt to make it hard is what I’ll say.”
The Trump administration has noted their initial intention is to work with a variety of law enforcement agencies and focus on arresting violent offenders for deportation.
“We have not been asked to participate in any raids,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
On Saturday, Salazar made his intentions clear as it relates to complying with federal law and assisting authorities in these ICE enforcement actions.
“Obviously, we’re going to cooperate with the law, but we also have to bear in mind racial profiling is still illegal,” Salazar said.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg expressed his disapproval of the overall tone of President Trump’s immigration-related executive actions, saying it’s only striking fear with the immigrant community, including mixed-status families.
Nirenberg said the City of San Antonio has maintained a productive history of working with federal agencies, specifically ICE, when it comes to removing violent criminals from the streets.
“San Antonio has always followed the law, but we also uphold the dignity of people when they need humanitarian assistance,” Nirenberg said. “We’re going to continue to observe the law and treat people with the dignity that every human being deserves.”