San Antonio Democratic Socialists Hold a Día de los Muertos Vigil at the Site of a Future 1,500-Bed ICE Detention Center
About two dozen people hung a banner reading 'Abolish ICE, Stop Alamo Alcatraz' on the fence of the $66 million warehouse. Breitbart Texas gives the government's account of the July Houston shooting honored at the memorial.
The San Antonio chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America held a "Community Vigil for Victims of ICE Violence" Sunday afternoon at the site of a planned ICE detention center on the city's East Side, Breitbart Texas reports.
The scene. About two dozen people attended. They unfurled a banner reading "ABOLISH ICE STOP ALAMO ALCATRAZ" and hung Día de los Muertos decorations, some with the names of people arrested by ICE in recent months, on the security fence. A candlelit memorial featured a photo of Lorenzo Salgado-Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national shot and killed by an ICE agent in Houston in July.
The government's account. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Salgado-Araujo did not have legal status and was shot after allegedly using his vehicle as a weapon against agents, ramming an ICE vehicle and ignoring commands to stop. Breitbart Texas says the Harris County District Attorney's Office is running a parallel investigation while the FBI's investigation continues.
The facility. Breitbart Texas reports that ICE bought the more than 600,000-square-foot warehouse in early February for over $66 million and gave GardaWorld Federal Services a $17.3 million contract to renovate and run it. It would hold up to 1,500 detainees awaiting deportation, under a multi-year delivery order capped at just over $1 billion. San Antonio's mayor has objected.
The ask. One speaker urged attendees to write their city council members to keep fighting construction and to donate to groups supporting detainees. She said San Antonio ranks fourth nationally for recent ICE enforcement actions. A New York Times analysis cited by Breitbart found the San Antonio field office made the fourth-most arrests nationwide from December 2025 to March 2026, but that office covers 36 counties, not just the city.
What to keep in mind. The vigil was part of a national weekend of Día de los Muertos anti-ICE events. The account of the Houston shooting is DHS's; the investigations are not finished. The report is written by a former Border Patrol division chief.