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Over 100 people came out to protest Monday evening on the corner of San Pedro Avenue and Basse Road.
That was the location of a multi-agency law-enforcement operation involving Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, San Antonio police, and federal immigration authorities early Sunday morning.
"I thought tonight was a great turnout — over 100 people on such a short notice," said Destiny Peña at the protest. "We put the call out very late last night. This was an amazing turnout. It was, you know, multinational, multi-generational. We saw elders. We saw children, students, young and old alike, all coming out in support."
A spokesperson for the FBI’s San Antonio field office confirmed in a statement that “FBI San Antonio & Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio, along with their local, state, and federal partners are conducting court-authorized activity in the vicinity."
Some organizers and community members sharply criticized the raid, calling it an excessive show of force and questioning the involvement of federal agencies.
"Everything that's happening, is just so horrific, and day by day, it gets worse and worse," said Laura Marshall, another protester. "So I just feel like we need to be out here and show support. ... They just came and arrested like 150 people, and it's still unclear if it was, like a mass roundup of people, or if it was targeted."
TPR asked the Department of Homeland Security for more specific information.
In reply, the federal agencies announced the new formation of the Homeland Security Task Force of South Texas and some of its recent enforcement activities.
Those activities included disrupting a Venezuelan gang presence in San Antonio on Saturday. But no exact location was given.
They did report the arrest of over 140 migrants from Venezuela, Honduras, Mexico and other South American countries.
President Trump activated troops to Democratic led cities in early October, citing a need to crack down on violent crime and to protect immigration facilities.
“By design, the Trump administration’s encroachment on the authority of municipal law enforcement along with the militarization of law enforcement is creating chaos,” said a statement from the protest organizers. “This is not San Antonio, and we demand that federal authorities withdraw and local policing be restored.”
The statement also alleges that individuals and area businesses were harmed during the operation.
"As with other recent invasions of cities, the agencies flagrantly ignored any semblance of policing,” said the statement.
Organizers said Monday’s protest is intended to call for transparency about what happened and to object to what they describe as militarized policing tactics.
"Agents swarmed in armed armored vehicles, high caliber weapons and flash bang grenades," said Chele Fernandez at the protest. "We saw agents forcing their ways into food trucks and holding the workers at gunpoint. Nearly 200 people, including bystanders, vendors and laborers and minors were present too," said Fernandez. "This was an indiscriminate sweep, not targeted arrests. Mothers are looking for their sons and daughters."
