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Bexar County commissioners on Tuesday approved a resolution to oppose the presence of an East Side ICE detention and processing facility in a repurposed warehouse.
Commissioners Court was packed with ICE protesters who held up signs referring to the planned facility as a "concentration camp" and others that told ICE to "get out."
Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert represents the area of the county where the ICE facility is to be established.
"This resolution allows for the ways to equalize the playing field in Trump's America, which is through the courts," he said. "The Trump Administration has been beaten back in the courts time after time after time."
Calvert said he planned to meet with attorneys from Washington D.C., to get legal advice on the county's possible legal remedies regarding the facility, perhaps over environmental concerns and a hit to area property values.
County Judge Peter Sakai stated his long opposition to ICE actions, including the deaths of protesters and the detention of children, as he voted for the resolution.
"I absolutely stand in opposition to the ICE detention facility in San Antonio," he said succinctly.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores said she is not one to over-promise and under-deliver on what legal options the county has, but she did support the resolution. She also urged the protestors and anyone listening to vote to turn Texas "blue."
And while some suggested the county needed a more sternly worded resolution, Clay-Flores reminded them who the "enemy" is.
"It is the tyrant at the top of the federal ticket. ... A lot of people did not vote. Period. Because they believed their vote does not count," she said.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Justin Rodriguez also defended the wording in the resolution. He invoked the political adage that "perfect" should not stand in the way of the good.
"I think this resolution expresses the concern the court has, not just with what's happening here in San Antonio and Bexar County, but what is happening all over the country," he said.
Precinct 3 Republican Commissioner Grant Moody appeared at the meeting via live video and voted against the resolution.
"The county really doesn't have much to say on all of this," he said of legal jurisdiction. "I think that this is ultimately political posturing and an attempt to look at local regulations or threaten legal proceedings to thwart a federal policy that some disagree with."
He also cautioned commissioners and community members against using charged words such as "tyrant," "torture," and "concentration camps" because the county counts on good federal relations, including for military facilities.
Protestor Rose Voz of the nonprofit organization San Antonio Unity had a message for any commercial property owner considering selling a property to ICE.
"These are real people. These are families. These are children who are being taken and put inside these facilities, so don't let your industrial, whatever you have, your industrial facility be turned into a detention center or internment camp by ICE."
Protester Enjolras Ruiz said local roundups by ICE have left the community feeling anxious and fearful. He said while he too would have liked a stronger resolution, he was glad to see commissioners go on the record against the ICE facility.
"At the end of the day, this is what we feel San Antonio is leaning towards," he said. "We want that guarantee of safety from our leaders. It's why we elected them in the first place, to feel safe in our homes. We don't feel that."
The resolution not only opposes the planned ICE facility, but it also calls on ICE to be transparent about any local facilities it operates and take into consideration the voice of Bexar County residents.
It also calls for ICE to follow federal standards and the Constitution as it relates to detainee health, safety, due process, and access to counsel.
The resolution adds ICE facilities have seen rotten food, inadequate medical care, disease, and unsafe conditions.
