People protest ICE outside Austin City Hall in downtown Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. A petition was given to City Council asking for an ordinance to prevent the Austin Police Department from helping ICE agents serve warrants to Austin residents.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
As a winter storm bore down on Austin late last week, residents braced for an onslaught of ice — and, many feared, ICE enforcement in the city.
Rumors that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were preparing a major operation in Austin spread rapidly across social media as the weekend approached. The claims, shared by a prominent Austin immigration attorney who is now a political candidate, along with downtown businesses and food influencers, suggested ICE had booked a large block of rooms at the Hyatt Regency downtown and arrested service workers in the Warehouse District. None included photos, video or other evidence.
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People protest ICE outside Austin City Hall in downtown Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. A petition was given to City Council asking for an ordinance to prevent the Austin Police Department from helping ICE agents serve warrants to Austin residents.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
“Credible reports on ICE activity,” Lincoln-Goldfinch said in a bilingual video post that was viewed more than 1 million times on Instagram and 250,000 on TikTok. “Watch out, stay safe and avoid downtown.”
City officials initially said nothing publicly, even as they worked behind the scenes to figure out if there was anything to the rumors. Police Chief Lisa Davis called ICE. City Council Member José “Chito” Vela called downtown hotels and bar workers, as well as immigration and criminal defense attorneys. They found nothing to corroborate the claims.
The situation was the latest test for officials in Austin, a liberal city where distrust of federal immigration agencies runs deep and residents have been rattled by recent events in Minneapolis. Earlier this month, Davis’ department faced backlash after Austin police called ICE on a mother and her young daughter due to an outstanding immigration warrant. The weekend rumors again placed local officials — many of whom oppose the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown — in the difficult position of trying to combat misinformation and calm fears while explaining the complexities of immigration enforcement in Texas and relying on assurances from the same federal agencies residents increasingly distrust.
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Protesters march up San Jacinto, back toward the J.J. Picle Building after shutting down traffic on Sixth Street, Jan. 10, 2026 during a protest to decry Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in solidarity with nation-wide protests after the killing of Renee Good, a Minneapolis woman, by ICE agents on January 7.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Local anxiety and anger flared again on Saturday when news broke of a second fatal shooting in Minneapolis, which prompted two pop-up protests in different parts of the city and fueled the online rumor mill.
That night, as demonstrators gathered outside the Hyatt Regency for a third consecutive evening, the city decided to issue a statement seeking to counter the claims. ICE, the city said, had told local leaders it was not conducting enhanced operations in Austin and had not deployed additional agents to the area. Officials said they hoped the statement would calm fears, encourage people to seek warming shelters during dangerous cold and prevent residents from skipping work or school.
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Watson and Davis said Monday they stand by that statement, citing a continued lack of evidence to the contrary.
The assurances, however, did little to slow the speculation. Online posts questioning the city’s account continued into the week, and protesters have kept returning to the Hyatt, banging pots and chanting in subfreezing temperatures. Organizer Haithem El-Kabri said demonstrators plan to return every night “until we get verification that ICE is not there.”
Protesters march down Sixth Street, shutting down traffic, Jan. 10, 2026 during a protest to decry Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in solidarity with nation-wide protests after the killing of Renee Good, a Minneapolis woman, by ICE agents on January 7.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Lincoln-Goldfinch said she still believes ICE had planned to stage in Austin, even if no surge in activity was apparent this past weekend. She said her skepticism is not directed at city leaders.
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“I believe city leadership,” Lincoln-Goldfinch said. “I don’t believe that ICE would inform the city of what it’s doing.”
Watson rejected the idea that the city should disregard information from the agency altogether, stressing that the city’s Saturday statement followed assurances given directly to local police officials by “people in positions of responsibility at ICE.”
“If the alternative is that I am not going to trust any response I get, then there is no need for the call,” Watson said. “We are at a point where the government can’t function and quell rumors that could lead to harm to members of the public.”
Vela said he and other officials did their best to fact-check ICE.
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“I want the people of Austin to know that its leaders are talking to other people and looking for other sources of information to vet rumors,” Vela said. “We are not just taking ICE at their word.”
District 4 Council Member José “Chito” Vela is the lead sponsor of “The APD Open Policing Data Release” resolution.
Mikala Compton/American-Statesman
The American-Statesman also found no evidence that ICE agents were staying at the Hyatt or that immigrant service workers were arrested downtown, as some posts claimed. New videos of alleged ICE arrests circulated on Austin-area Spanish-language social media pages over the weekend, but not at a higher rate than in previous months.
Still, there is no denying that ICE has maintained a steady presence in the Austin area over the past year amid a broader immigration crackdown, and that it has been the source of falsehoods about its actions locally and elsewhere, both now and in the past. The agency has made arrests following traffic stops by the Texas Department of Public Safety, whose troopers have been directed by Gov. Greg Abbott to assist with immigration enforcement. Immigration arrests have also occurred at least 33 times after Austin police have contacted ICE, a practice Davis has said exists because state law prohibits the department from barring officers from communicating with federal authorities.
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Democrats Kate Lincoln Goldfinch and Samantha Lopez-Resendez are running to replace state Rep. James Talarico in the Texas Legislature.
Courtesy of the campaign
On Monday, Lincoln-Goldfinch, who is a Democratic candidate for the Texas House, said she shared the claims despite lacking video or firsthand confirmation — a standard she said she typically requires — because she believed “more information is better than less.”
“Because it’s clear that DHS is uncontrolled, that ICE and CBP agents are uncoordinated and untrained,” Lincoln-Goldfinch said.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said she received her information from an unnamed source she described as “high in state politics,” but declined to identify the person or provide additional details.
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State and local leaders urged residents to be cautious when sharing information online.
“Neighbors helping neighbors with the intent of keeping each other safe and protecting each other’s rights is always helpful,” said state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, an Austin Democrat. “But make sure it is verified and useful information.”
U.S. Representative Greg Casar prepares to speak to a large crowd gathered during a rally at Austin City Hall to protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Jan. 10, 2026 in solidarity with nation-wide protests after the killing of Renee Good, a Minneapolis woman, by ICE agents on January 7.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat who represents Austin, said officials are trying to navigate fear and provide information without amplifying false alarms.
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“It is really important for us to not cry wolf and be wrong,” Casar said. “At the same time, I have a lot of empathy for people who are worried about this and a lot of empathy for people who would not trust what the federal government’s story is, and that puts us in a very difficult position.”
Staff writer Austin Sanders contributed reporting