SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A small group of San Antonio residents attended a protest organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) on behalf of approximately 150 illegal aliens arrested during a Sunday morning law enforcement raid. Law enforcement agencies conducted the raid as part of an investigation into the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. The PSL flyer advertising Monday’s protest against the raid accused law enforcement of “Kidnapping and detaining over 150 workers.”
Breitbart Texas observed the protest, which began shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Monday, at the intersection of Basse Road and San Pedro Avenue. The intersection is several blocks from the makeshift nightclub raided by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, along with other state and local law enforcement partners, early Sunday morning.
Party for Socialism and Liberation
Approximately 70 residents attended the protest organized by the San Antonio chapter of the PSL. The group remained at the location for several hours. It included many carrying PSL-provided signs that read, “S.A.P.D. Tearing Families Apart”, “SAPD & ICE Stop Terrorizing San Antonio”, and “Money for Jobs and Education, Not for Racist Deportations”.
As several protesters waved signs at passing motorists, others displayed a large Mexican Flag. One protester draped himself in the Nicaraguan flag as he stood watching others in the group shout anti-ICE slogans nearby. The group of protesters marched around the intersection for several hours, chanting slogans critical of ICE deportation actions before dispersing.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, the raid, drawing the ire of the Partly for Socialism and Liberation, was a court-approved action related to an ongoing investigation into violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang members. Approximately 150 people, believed to be in the United States illegally, were arrested and are citizens of Mexico, Honduras, and Venezuela. The raid took place at a food trailer lot that also served as a makeshift nightclub.
The FBI responded to an inquiry about the raid from Breitbart Texas with a statement that provided little additional information concerning the raid, saying:
I can confirm that FBI San Antonio and Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio, along with their local, state, and federal partners, are conducting court-authorized activity in the vicinity of the intersection of San Pedro Avenue and Basse Road in San Antonio, Texas. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.
The protest was held blocks away from a now-closed migrant shelter operated on San Pedro Avenue by the City of San Antonio and several non-profit organizations, including Catholic Charities. As reported by Breitbart Texas, the shelter, in operation during the last two years of the Biden administration, housed more than 60,000 Venezuelan nationals released into the United States after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Reports indicate that Catholic Charities of San Antonio received over $50 million during the Biden administration’s border crisis. According to USASpending.gov, the Trump administration clawed back more than $30 million from the charity group.
Venezuelans topped the list of the ten most sheltered nationalities in San Antonio since the shelter opened in July 2022 (more than 60,000). According to the City of San Antonio, Nicaraguans followed in second place, with more than 26,000 individuals having been sheltered at the facility over two years. Cubans, Hondurans, Haitians, and Colombians rounded out the top six nationalities, with a combined total of 78,393 individuals sheltered since the facility’s opening day. The shelter also housed migrants from across the globe, including some considered by the FBI and DHS to be Special Interest Aliens.
The shelter closed shortly after the inauguration of President Trump, who quickly ended the “catch and release” policies at the southwest border put in place by the prior administration. At the time of its closing, the shelter had received nearly $17 million in Federal Emergency Management Shelter and Services funding from the Biden administration.
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.
