A masked ICE agent speaks with Samantha Alarcórn, who witnessed an immigration enforcement operation in Laguna Vista, in the Rio Grande Valley, on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
Courtesy Samantha Alarcón via Facebook
Days after ICE agents fatally shot two motorists in Houston and Biddeford, Maine, another encounter involving federal immigration agents has left residents in a South Texas town shaken.
On Tuesday, July 14, Samantha Alarcón took to Facebook to share her experience during an ICE operation in Laguna Vista, which is about 10 miles from South Padre Island. Her post quickly gained traction, drawing more than 3,000 shares and 2,000 comments, as she described federal agents wearing face coverings apprehending a young man on a residential street. Agents later released the 18-year-old after determining he was a U.S. citizen.
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Alarcón said she was nearly “run off the road” as multiple unmarked vehicles pursued an SUV across narrow, curbless residential streets where the speed limit is 20 mph. Alarcón was with her son when the unmarked vehicles drove past her “with no lights, no logos, and masked men inside.” Alarcón told MySA she was forced to veer into the grass as the vehicles sped over speed humps.
In Alarcón’s photos, body-worn cameras can be seen on both federal agents and local police officers.
The teen remained in the back seat after the driver and another passenger fled from a vehicle stopped in the driveway of a home. Alarcón alleged in the Facebook post that federal immigration agents entered a neighbor’s yard, drew their weapons and pointed a gun at the teen.
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Alarcón said she yelled for agents to let the teen go. She wrote in her post, “I screamed at the top of my lungs that he was just a high school kid.” Ultimately, the agents did, allegedly asking Alarcón to give him a ride home.
“The drive home broke my heart. This poor young man was sitting in my truck crying in pure, unadulterated fear while talking to his mom on the phone,” Alarcón said.
MySA sought to speak with the teen and his family through Alarcón, but they declined to be interviewed at this time, saying they wanted to consult an attorney before speaking publicly.
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A masked ICE agent emerges from a vehicle during an enforcement operation in Laguna Vista, in the Rio Grande Valley, on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
Courtesy Samantha Alarcón via Facebook
ICE releases details on South Texas incident
An ICE spokesperson confirmed to MySA that agents had been conducting “targeted enforcement arrests” in Laguna Vista, but denied that a vehicle pursuit occurred.
“Officers observed a vehicle driving erratically; the driver accelerated in an attempt to evade the officers, turned into a home’s driveway, and two individuals exited the vehicle on foot,” the ICE official said. “There was no vehicle pursuit or arrest attempt.”
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The ICE official added that one agent drew his gun when the teen allegedly “began reaching into a tool bag” after failing to follow orders given in English and Spanish to exit the vehicle.
“A knife was later discovered in the tool bag the man had been reaching into,” the official said
ICE called the “potentially fatal” incident “100% preventable,” saying people approached by agents should follow their instructions and not become violent or flee.
But ICE did not comment about Alacórn’s role in the incident or what happened to the two people who fled. ICE also declined to elaborate on which agents had been targeting in Laguna Vista.
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Last week’s incident came a day after ICE agents fatally shot 25-year-old Colombian immigrant Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine. A week earlier, agents fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican laborer, as he was driving his work crew to a job site in Houston.
The fatal shootings have sparked backlash and prompted DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to issue a nationwide pause on vehicle stops Tuesday before President Donald Trump reversed the directive the next day. Since last year, federal agents have shot 23 people — six fatally, including three American citizens, according to the New York Times.
The first fatal shooting occurred on March 15, 2025, when an immigration agent shot San Antonio native Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, on South Padre Island.