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Hundreds gathered Saturday afternoon in downtown San Antonio for a rally and march protesting recent actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the fatal shooting of Renée Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
Among the demonstrators at Main Plaza was Alex Longoria-Mendoza, who said she hopes the protests lead to real change.
“Well, that’s why I’m here — because I would like to be the change that I’d like to see in the world. But right now, things are just getting very scary … change for the worse, not for the better, which is why I’m out here,” she told TPR.
Another protester, Trevor Balmer, said he’s worried about the direction of the country.
“To me it seems that America is a place where we should be able to express and exercise our opinions and freely live our lives, but that does not seem to be the direction that this administration wants to take our country,” he said.
Kelly Trout said she is “terrified” by recent events involving ICE agents.
“I feel like it’s just like Germany in the 1930s. We have secret police,” she said. “How is that possible in America?”
After speakers addressed the crowd, demonstrators marched through downtown San Antonio as the San Antonio Police Department temporarily closed several intersections.
The nationwide protests were prompted by the Jan. 7 shooting death of Renée Nicole Good in Minneapolis. Federal officials say an ICE agent opened fire after Good used her vehicle in a way they considered a threat, though local leaders and civil rights advocates have questioned that account and are calling for an independent investigation.
Demonstrations have since spread to cities across the country, with protesters demanding greater accountability from immigration authorities and changes to how federal enforcement operations are carried out.
