During San Antonio Field Hearing, Castro, Local Leaders Demand Accountability For ICE Operations And Proposed Warehouse
SAN ANTONIO, TX — Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) hosted a field hearing in San Antonio, entitled, “Examining the Community Impacts of Mass Deportation and Proposed ICE Warehouse.” He was joined by elected officials at the dais including Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez (TX-19), Texas State Senator José Menéndez (TX-26), Texas State Representative Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (HD-120), Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran, City Council District 3. Hearing witnesses included Kristin Etter, Director of Policy and Legal Services, Texas Immigration Law Council, Priscilla Olivarez, Managing Policy Attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and the Reverend Father Jimmy Drennan, St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, COPS/Metro Alliance. Additional San Antonio leaders expressed their support for the hearing, including Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and Councilman Ric Galvan, City Council District 6.
“San Antonio is one of the epicenters for ICE activity and ranks fourth in the nation for arrests,” said Congressman Castro. “The first American citizen shot by ICE, Ruben Ray Martinez, was a son of San Antonio. South of the city, the Dilley Trailer Prison has locked away thousands of children without proper food, medical care, and schooling. Texas National Guardsmen and local police in Texas have been deputized by ICE, supercharging arrests and detentions. Our community has become collateral damage in Trump’s mass deportation machine. Now this proposed warehouse on the East Side would extend these abuses deeper into our community and our lives. None of this is making life easier or more affordable for San Antonio families—it is tearing families apart, targeting our communities, and leaving a dark stain on our nation.”
“ICE is a rogue agency that shoots first and asks questions later. They are terrorizing our communities and torturing people with impunity,” said Senator Gutierrez. “The cruelty must end now”.
“The Trump Administration and Governor Abbott have colluded to stoke fear in our communities and incite human rights violations across our country. We must hold them accountable to protect people and restore basic human rights. Thank you, Congressman Castro and his team, for organizing a safe space for experts in the field and community members to discuss the threats to us all,” said Senator Menéndez.
“Today, I join U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and other community leaders for a San Antonio field hearing to examine community impacts of mass deportation and the proposed ICE warehouse in San Antonio's East side in House District 120 that I represent. Like many faith leaders and others, I view the care and support of migrants not as a political issue, but as a fundamental obligation of human morality, compassion, and dignity. I will continue to fight for those that are being harmed and oppressed by this unjust system. I simply ask you to join us in this fight for human decency,” said Texas State Representative Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (HD-120).
“This was an excellent opportunity to work alongside my state and federal colleagues to identify a real path forward to prevent ICE facilities from entering the City of San Antonio. I am committed to working with my Council colleagues on a solid plan to address the inequities and impacts an ICE facility would have on our city, particularly on the East Side. I want to thank all of the community members who came out to listen, participate, and support their elected officials in this effort. Our panelists did an excellent job providing critical information and perspectives that will help inform our work as we move forward,” said Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran.
“A new detention center in Texas only works to expand the capacity to detain more of our community members and separate more families. The harm reaches beyond the household; we have seen that when parents and workers are detained, families lose income, businesses lose employees, and local economies lose the spending that helps them thrive. Our communities need investments that help families put down roots and thrive. We urge leaders to reject this expansion and focus on keeping Texas families, communities, and local economies together,” said Kristin Etter, Director of Policy and Legal Services, Texas Immigration Law Council.
“If the ICE warehouse is allowed to open, vital city resources will be misused to support the unlawful detention of our loved ones,” said Priscilla Olivarez, Managing Policy Attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. “I stand alongside the San Antonio community who are rightfully demanding DHS complete all federally mandated impact assessments before further steps are taken to open the ICE warehouse. San Antonio residents deserve to know the full adverse impact the ICE facility will have on those detained within its walls and the critical resources the facility will divert from our city.”
“What we are witnessing now is the re-institutionalization of discrimination in our law enforcement community, specifically ICE, against American citizens and our immigrant neighbors alike. People who are not properly vetted and not properly trained are coming into our institutions, and it is going to rip the fabric of our community apart unless it is brought to an end," said the Reverend Father Jimmy Drennan. “These are real people. I've looked into their eyes, and I've heard their stories. Their fear is real, and their fear is justified. In San Antonio, our community will keep pushing back.”
“I reiterate my opposition to the proposed ICE processing facility on San Antonio’s East Side. San Antonians deserve to feel safe taking their children to school, going to work, and calling police when they need help. Immigration enforcement must respect due process and basic human dignity,” said Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones. “We have pressed the federal government for transparency about this proposal, including its plans for the facility and the potential demands on our water, infrastructure, and emergency services. Our residents deserve answers, and our city deserves a meaningful voice in decisions that affect our neighborhoods. I thank Congressman Castro for convening this hearing and will continue demanding accountability on behalf of San Antonio,” said Mayor Ortiz Jones.
“We must continue to challenge every level of government to take action upon the acts of terror that ICE has committed upon our neighbors—noncitizen and citizen alike. We must demand the accountability of a rogue federal agency that continues to violate constitutional rights here in San Antonio and across our country. We must not back down from the fight. ICE has no home in San Antonio, and it must answer for its crimes against our community,” said Councilmember Ric Galvan.
"The first thing that Congress needs to do is pass a bill to shut down all of the infrastructure for these additional ICE buildings for the detention of human beings," said Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert. "Congress should require the federal government to comply with local zoning regulations and health and safety measures as a check on unbridled tyrants."
“COPS/Metro represents 32 institutions across our city, and we have seen firsthand the impacts of detention and deportation. We are deeply concerned about the human toll of recent ICE arrests in our community and oppose the proposal for an East Side detention center. When parents are detained at workplaces, courthouses, or outside their homes, the harm reaches far beyond the individual. Children are left without caregivers, families lose their income, and entire neighborhoods live in fear. That fear has real consequences. Families are separated, children are kept home from school, and they hesitate to report crimes or cooperate with police. When people are afraid to take part in ordinary civic life, public safety and community trust suffer for everyone. We believe immigration enforcement must respect due process, family unity, and basic human dignity. We call on officials to: Limit enforcement actions at schools, hospitals, houses of worship, and courthouses; Ensure access to legal counsel for people in detention; Provide transparency about who is being detained and why; and Pursue lasting, humane reforms to the immigration system. We stand with our immigrant neighbors and will continue to support families affected by these actions,” said Arturo Rodriguez, Leader, COPS/Metro Alliance.
Background:
San Antonio has become one of the cities hit hardest by Trump’s mass deportation campaign, ranking fourth in the nation in ICE arrests. Across Texas, the toll is reaching classrooms, with public schools losing more than 14,000 immigrant students last year. State leaders are continuing to deepen Texas’s role in ICE enforcement, requiring county sheriffs to enter 287(g) agreements with ICE. These agreements deputize local police officers as ICE agents, acting as a force multiplier for ICE arrests, detentions, and deportations. In August, Congressman Castro led a delegation of elected officials representing Bexar County urging cities to withdraw from their 287(g) agreements with ICE.
On March 25, 2025, San Antonio resident Ruben Ray Martinez was shot and killed by an ICE agent. Congressman Castro pushed for accountability when the news became public after the agency didn’t acknowledge its role in his death for nearly a year. ICE has also targeted children, detaining elementary students at their bus stops in San Antonio, including the Uzategui-Labrador family. These children and many others have been detained at the Dilley Trailer Prison, where children, some only a few months old, are held in inhumane conditions.
In January, ICE bought a nearly 640,000-square-foot warehouse on San Antonio’s East Side for $66.1 million. In August, it awarded a $17.3 million contract to GardaWorld Federal Services, the company behind “Alligator Alcatraz,” to retrofit the proposed detention facility and provide wrap-around services. The proposed site would hold 1,000 to 1,500 people daily.
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