SAN ANTONIO – Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers walked through Phil Hardberger Park Friday on the North Side and it prompted questions from community members.
Many visitors described the park as a place where they come to exercise, spend time with family and relax.
“It’s kind of scary because usually there’s kids out here too,” resident Alonso Martinez said in reaction to the photos.
Trail runner Ella McArdle called the images unsettling.
“I think it is disgusting,” McArdle said. “I’m Hispanic myself. I’ve seen it impact the Hispanic community so much in San Antonio. I see it all over everywhere. In the park, it’s crazy.”
Marquetta Valdez owns a run club that uses Hardberger Park every week to meet. Valdez said she worries the presence of immigration officers could discourage people from joining the group.
“I’m afraid that if I tell them, ‘Hey, ICE is in the area,’ that they’re not going to want to come anymore,” Valdez said.
KSAT asked ICE if it was common for officers to patrol public parks.
ICE said its officers use “reasonable suspicion” and routinely conduct law enforcement operations to protect the American public, but did not say whether any arrests were made at the park.
“ICE has authority for lawful arrests under 8 USC 1357,” an ICE spokesperson said. “Law enforcement officers use ‘reasonable suspicion’ to investigate immigration status and probable cause to make arrests consistent with the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
Additionally, ICE denied using “racial profiling” to detain people in a statement to KSAT.
Still, parkgoers said immigration officers walking along Phil Hardberger park trails is disturbing.
“I truly think it’s devastating,” McArdle said. “I hate to see it here. I really do.”
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