SAN ANTONIO – Dozens of people gathered outside San Antonio City Hall on Friday to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and the Sept. 20 shooting of a 28-year-old man in Austin.
The protest was organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation San Antonio. Demonstrators called the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez unjust and said they want ICE removed from Texas communities.
“We want ICE out of our communities, ICE out of Texas,” protester Destiny Pena said.
Perez was working as a food delivery driver in Austin when he was shot by an immigration officer, according to his attorney.
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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended the officers in a statement shared after the shooting. The statement said, in part, “Resisting officers and evading arrest is dangerous for our officers, illegal aliens, and the public.”
“Seeking a better life is not a crime,” Pena said.
The shooting of Perez has prompted questions about what led to the encounter and the medical treatment Perez received while detained.
Mullin also referred to Perez as “an illegal alien who has no legal status to be here” and said he had received “some of the best medical care he’s ever received in his life.”
Protesters rejected that framing and said immigration status should not determine whether someone receives humane treatment.
“There’s no need for the kind of violent escalation that we’ve seen from ICE across the country,” protester Soren said.
“We are sick and tired of the suffering that the administration is putting immigrants, our sisters and brothers through,” protestor Preston Wood said. “We represent millions of people who are disgusted by the racism and attempts to divide and hurt.”
Don Khan, another anti-ICE protestor, said the country is at a turning point.
“We are really in serious, serious trouble. This country needs to recognize, to realize, we’re at a crossroads,” Khan said.
Pena said protesters want dignity and safety for everyone.
“We’re human beings,” Pena said. “We all want the same things. We want a life of dignity.”
The protest also raised concerns about an ICE detention facility that is nearing operation on San Antonio’s East Side. Activists in San Antonio and Austin said they plan to continue protesting in honor of Perez and against the facility.
At 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, there will be a town hall at 2404 E. Houston St. The Party for Socialism and Liberation San Antonio says, “San Antonio must be the next city to STOP the development of the proposed East Side Detention Center!”
There is also an “ICE Out of Texas” day of action planned at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, at Anderson Square & Research in Austin.
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