San Antonio Socialists Stage Dia de Los Muertos Vigil Against ICE

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The San Antonio chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) held a “Community Vigil for Victims of ICE Violence” Sunday afternoon. The protest took place at the site of a future U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center on the city’s East Side. Around two dozen people attended the vigil and listened as DSA speakers described the impact of ICE enforcement operations in the city.

The chapter’s flyer announcing the vigil invited the public “to grieve, reflect, and be in community as we honor individuals murdered by immigration police this year.” DSA members and attendees arrived at the site of the proposed detention facility and unfurled a large banner that read, “ABOLISH ICE STOP ALAMO ALCATRAZ.” 

The group used the security fence surrounding the future detention site to hang Día de los Muertos-themed decorations, some bearing the names of people arrested by ICE in recent months. One attendee wore a cloth face mask prominently displaying a vulgar message aimed at ICE. Another in the crowd wore a respirator-type mask and sported a Palestinian keffiyeh-type scarf. 

A makeshift memorial with candles featured a photo of Lorenzo Salgado-Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national who was fatally shot in July by an ICE agent in Houston during an enforcement operation.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Salgado-Araujo, who did not have legal immigration status in the United States, was shot after allegedly weaponizing his vehicle against agents. Agents allege Salgado-Araujo used his vehicle to ram an ICE vehicle and ignored commands to stop. As reported by Breitbart Texas, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office is conducting a parallel investigation as the FBI’s investigation continues. 

At Sunday’s vigil, one speaker, who identified herself as Lora, offered suggestions for additional action items attendees should engage in actions to counter what she referred to as “Trump’s escalated ICE enforcement,” adding San Antonio ranks fourth in the nation for the number of ICE enforcement actions that have taken place recently. 

A New York Times analysis found ICE’s San Antonio field office made the fourth-most arrests nationwide between December 2025 and March 2026, but the office covers an area much larger than just the city of San Antonio. The field office accounts for enforcement actions in 36 counties, spanning Central Texas and the border cities of Laredo, Eagle Pass and Del Rio.

Lora asked attendees to submit correspondence to their city council members asking the city to continue the fight against the construction of the facility. She ended her address by asking the attendees to consider donating to groups that provide support to people who are being detained in “ICE prisons.”

As reported by Breitbart Texas, ICE purchased the more than 600,000-square-foot warehouse in early February for more than $66 million and awarded GardaWorld Federal Services a $17.3 million contract to renovate it and provide the full wrap-around services needed to run a facility that will house up to 1,500 detainees awaiting deportation. The delivery order is a multi-year contract capped at just over $1 billion.

The vigil coincided with a national weekend of Día de los Muertos anti-ICE events, organized by Disappeared in America and several other activist groups. 

Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol.  Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.