ICE agents made a surprising arrest inside a South Texas H-E-B, chasing down and tackling a man in a grocery store aisle in an encounter that has sparked a heated debate on social media over immigration enforcement in public spaces.
Several videos of the encounter show ICE agents running through the H-E-B in Alamo, located in Hidalgo County’s Rio Grande Valley. In the clips, several agents and an Alamo police officer apprehend the man in an aisle of the grocery store, cuffing him while he lies face down on the floor.
The footage sparked a heated debate online, with some commenters calling on H-E-B to take a stronger stance against immigration enforcement inside its stores. Others questioned what employees could realistically have done to intervene in an arrest involving federal officers.
In the H-E-B subreddit, a video of the encounter received more than 680 upvotes, and 350 comments.
“Look at that s–t! HEB you have a duty to keep this f—ery away from your customers,” one person wrote in response. “YOU ARE ALLOWED TO KICK THEM OUT. This is clearly disruptive to your business and dangerous to any civilian nearby. This is a call to action for HEB. Make a stand. ICE NOT WELCOME IN MY HEB!!!!!”
“HEB should not allow this to happen,” wrote another. “Shame.”
Others said H-E-B employees shouldn’t be expected to engage with federal officers, while some questioned what workers could have done.
“To those saying HEB shouldn’t have allowed this, do you expect manager Brian of the Deli to just stand up to ICE?!,” one person questioned. “It’s a private company. Yes, they do good for the state. But they can’t just stop federal LE.”
The H-E-B at 1211 E Frontage Rd, Alamo, Texas. A video of ICE agents arrested a man at the Alamo H-E-B has gone viral. (Google Maps Street View)
“Situations like these, I have no idea what we expect partners at HEB to do,” one person replied.
H-E-B addressed the incident in a reply to a video posted on X, saying the pursuit began off its property before ending inside the store. The video received more than 650 likes, 137 reposts and 35 comments by Monday morning.
“Law enforcement apprehended an individual they had been pursuing in the area,” the company wrote. “The situation began off our property. The individual was eventually taken into custody on our property without incident. H-E-B had no prior knowledge of the incident and was not involved in the arrest.”
In response to Chron’s request for comment Monday morning, H-E-B provided a similar statement, including a few additional details.
“It did not involve anyone shopping inside the store,” the company added. “Our Partners and security teams remain focused on providing a safe, quality shopping experience for our customers.”
H-E-B did not immediately respond to Chron’s request for more information about its relationship with law enforcement or its policies on officers entering its stores. Chron contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for more information about the arrest.
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This article originally published at ICE agents arrest man inside Texas H-E-B as video sparks debate.