The video, recorded Thursday morning, shows two agents in vests inside a home in the Sunrise neighborhood.
SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio woman says two federal agents entered her northeast-side home without producing a search warrant, an encounter captured on a Facebook Live video that has since gone viral.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official later confirmed to KENS 5 that the two men were pursuing a wanted man and had a warrant for his arrest.
The video, recorded Thursday morning, shows two men wearing vests labeled “police” inside a home in the Sunrise neighborhood. At one point, the men are seen scuffling with another man as he attempts to close the door.
The woman recording the video, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for her safety, said everyone inside the home is either a U.S. citizen or has legal status.
“Having a gun pointed at you and your family — not being able to do anything — it just makes you feel weak and useless,” she said. “What else am I going to do?”
According to the woman, the incident began earlier that morning when her roommate and her roommate’s boyfriend were pulled over by an unmarked vehicle while driving to work, about five minutes from the home. She said both are U.S. citizens.
She claimed the men banged on the car windows and did not allow the couple time to present identification.
“They didn’t want the ID. They just kept banging on the windows,” she said.
The couple drove away, and the men followed them back to the house, she said. Officers detained the roommate, but the boyfriend ran and hid.
The woman said officers accused her roommate’s boyfriend of being a child molester, but she insists they had the wrong person.
“She asked for a picture, and it wasn’t even him,” the woman said. “We told them they had the wrong house and the wrong people.”
She said officers later released her roommate and left the area for about 20 minutes before returning after spotting the man they were searching for. That is when the Facebook Live video began.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said he has asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement for answers after seeing the video.
“I directly asked the chief of staff to the field director of ICE about that raid,” Castro said. “He said he was unaware of it, but I asked him to provide an explanation of exactly what happened.”
ICE spokeswoman Nina Pruneda provided a statement about the incident to KENS 5:
“On February 5, ICE officers were conducting a targeted operation to arrest Gonzalo Mejia Ortega, 34, a violent criminal illegal alien from Mexico with three previous arrests for domestic assault. Officers had a warrant for his arrest. This criminal illegal chose to commit a felony by illegally re-entering the U.S. after he was previously removed.
When ICE officers attempted to conduct a vehicle stop of Mejia Ortega, he resisted arrest and fled from law enforcement and ran inside his home. In carrying out their lawful duties, ICE officers pursued this violent criminal into his home. Mejia Ortega fled out a window and is still at large. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to contact the ICE Tip Line at 1-866-347-2423.
While exiting the house, an individual assaulted an ICE officer. ICE officers attempted to arrest this individual for assault—a felony and federal crime—but agitators within the house interfered with the lawful arrest. For their safety, officers left the house without completing the arrest.
ICE is consulting with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to pursue federal criminal charges.”
The woman said the encounter had left her and her 3-year-old child shaken.
“They left everyone here traumatized when it wasn’t even the right person,” she said.