SAN ANTONIO — Over 60 protesters gathered near the Northmoor and Olmos Park Terrace neighborhoods of San Antonio early Monday evening following a Sunday immigration raid in the area.
The raid, conducted by the FBI, Texas Department of Public Safety and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, led to the detainment of over 140 migrants, Destiny Peña of the Party for Socialism and Liberation San Antonio told the San Antonio Express-News.
“They came into our city with shock and flash-bangs, smoke bombs — breaking windows, flipping tables and terrorizing our community,” Peña told demonstrators, according to the Express-News.
“People don’t support these tactics. They tried this in Chicago, in LA, in Charlottesville, and they met resistance there, too. Why do they have money for war, occupation and deportation, but we can’t afford our rent or groceries?” she said.
The migrants came from countries such as Mexico, Honduras and Venezuela. The raid was part of a new South Texas Homeland Security task force aimed at fighting Tren de Aragua, a criminal group founded in Venezuela.
“We don’t need federal agents coming into town, putting boots on the ground and enforcing heavy-handed laws,” Peter Bella, a 71-year-old San Antonio native, told the Express-News. “There’s no transparency. I don’t believe 150 people here were secretly working with a gang. If they’re not criminals, leave them alone.”