{"id":129577,"date":"2026-01-19T22:40:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T22:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/129577\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T22:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T22:40:08","slug":"bexar-county-da-candidate-defends-his-plans-to-prosecute-ice-after-criticism-from-legal-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/129577\/","title":{"rendered":"Bexar County DA candidate defends his plans to prosecute ICE after criticism from legal community"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Criminal defense attorney Shannon Locke speaks during a Bexar County District Attorney debate at Our Lady of the Lake University over the weekend. Credit: Michael Karlis<\/p>\n

Criminal defense attorney Shannon Locke defended his plans<\/a> to prosecute Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during the first Bexar County District Attorney debate at Our Lady of the Lake on Saturday after criticism by his opponents.<\/p>\n

During the debate, Locke justified his position by pointing to an October ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Xavier Rodriguez<\/a>, in which he dismissed a case brought by the federal government against a Honduran immigrant due to \u201coutrageous\u201d government conduct.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a crime occurs by an ICE agent, and it\u2019s an intentional act and they don\u2019t have the authority to do that, then we can prosecute them and indict them,\u201d Locke said. \u201cThe government will then move it to federal court, and we will appear in front of a federal judiciary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Locke\u2019s comments during the forum hosted by the Bexar County Democrats came amid controversy over whether the District Attorney\u2019s office actually has the power to investigate federal agencies.<\/p>\n

Locke has said on numerous occasions over the past week that he will prosecute ICE agents, Gov. Greg Abbott, and even President Donald Trump if similar immigration operations as those seen in Minneapolis were implemented in San Antonio.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to investigate the ICE raids,\u201d Locke said during a forum hosted by the Northwest Democrats on Saturday morning. \u201cI\u2019m the only candidate calling for investigations into ICE raids. There have been crimes committed by federal agents that have to be investigated. That\u2019s not happening now. But it needs to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Independent candidate Jason Wolff, also a criminal defense attorney, criticized Locke for his ICE remarks on TikTok last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know damn well that you don\u2019t have the general jurisdiction \u2014 nor do our courts have general jurisdiction \u2014 over federal employees acting in their official capacity,\u201d Wolff said in the clip. \u201cAll you\u2019re doing is grandstanding for voters to get yourself ahead of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecutor Oscar Salinas, a candidate running for District Attorney as a Democrat, also accused Locke during this weekend\u2019s debate of using ICE to pander to voters. Meanwhile, Jane Davis, who currently serves as the chief of the juvenile section at the Bexar County District Attorney\u2019s office, accused Locke of lying to voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want you to be misled, I don\u2019t want you to be fooled, and I think it\u2019s important to not waste resources on things that can\u2019t be done the way you want to do it,\u201d Davis said of Locke\u2019s plans. \u201cWe need to encourage the police officers to protect protesters. We need to work together to do what we can within the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Locke fired back at Davis, insinuating that she was misinformed.<\/p>\n

\u201cJane, you\u2019re wrong. You\u2019re just plain wrong,\u201d Locke quipped. \u201cYou don\u2019t practice federal law, Jane. You just don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candidate Veronica Legaretta, of the Legaretta Law Firm, then fought back against Locke\u2019s notion that he was the only candidate with any experience in federal court.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to say, I practice in Federal Court, Shannon,\u201d Legaretta quipped before going into her history of helping immigrants at her practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Bexar County needs is someone who is going to be firm on crime, but fair to everyone,\u201d Lagaretta said. \u201cWhat we need is someone who knows how to be a prosecutor, someone who\u2019s seen the wrong [done] by a defense attorney, someone who\u2019s been a magistrate judge and sees how, at the very beginning, it can change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another debate between the Democratic candidates for Bexar County DA is set for 6 p.m. on Feb. 3 at the Carver Community Cultural Center.<\/p>\n

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