San Antonio Community Rises Against New East Side ICE Detention Center

The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) San Antonio led a protest against the opening of a new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center on the city’s East Side. The facility, a repurposed warehouse acquired by ICE for $66 million, is slated to begin operations on September 30 and will reportedly process between 500 and 1,500 detainees daily.

Community activists, including members of the Democratic Socialists of America and the 50501 Movement, gathered outside the facility at 542 SE Loop 410. They chanted, banged drums, and rallied to raise awareness about the detention center’s imminent opening. Passing drivers honked in support, signaling local opposition to the expansion of ICE’s detention infrastructure.

Ilse Martinez, PSL San Antonio organizer, emphasized the urgency of informing the community about the center’s opening. “A lot of people that we’ve talked to in the community aren’t aware that this is happening,” Martinez said. “We’re going to continue up until September 30th, and after, just making sure that people in San Antonio know what’s happening.”

Concerns extend beyond the detention center’s existence to its environmental and social impact. Soren, co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America’s immigration committee, highlighted the strain the facility could place on already underserved neighborhoods. “It’s going to cause a lot of pollution for the nearby neighborhoods. It’s going to be a heavy strain on some city resources. We’re talking about sewage capacity in this area,” Soren explained.

These environmental worries echo issues seen at other ICE detention centers nationwide, including facilities in Pennsylvania and Karnes County, Texas, where inadequate water and sewage infrastructure has compounded the suffering of detainees and communities alike.

Local officials have also voiced their opposition. Bexar County Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert, whose district includes the new facility, criticized the federal government for bypassing environmental impact reviews normally required under the National Environmental Policy Act. “Federal prisons actually decrease the property values of neighboring businesses and homes,” Calvert said. “They didn’t do any of that.”

Calvert also condemned the inhumane treatment historically documented inside ICE detention centers. He recounted stories from detainees, including a Venezuelan mother kept awake all night by constant lighting and outbreaks of measles due to poor medical care. “What they do in terms of treatment of the immigrants inside is horrific,” Calvert said.

Community members at the protest expressed frustration with the broader immigration system, noting that undocumented immigrants contribute billions in taxes yet receive no benefits. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022 alone.

The protest was not just a one-time event. PSL plans a rally and march on May 1, International Workers Day, calling for a general strike to further oppose the Trump administration’s immigration policies and ICE’s expansion in San Antonio.

“Our community has been backhanded by the Trump administration trying to put a detention center here,” Calvert said. “We’ve successfully fought off two before in my precinct, and we’re going to fight on this. We wanted to have a public demonstration of a coalition of people that are saying, ‘This is totally immoral.’”

As the September opening date approaches, the coalition of activists, residents, and officials vow to keep up the pressure to prevent the East Side ICE detention center from becoming another site of suffering and injustice in Texas.