Mayor of San Antonio Gina Ortiz Jones sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s new northeast-side deportation warehouse. To date, the last notice indicates that no reply has been received. San Antonio is a city built by immigrants, known for its cultural diversity and Hispanic heritage. This makes it ironic that San Antonio has been chosen for the development of a warehouse to hold DHS detainees before they are deported to mostly Latin countries. The city should be doing more to prevent the mistreatment of the various populations that give San Antonio its storied history.
Other cities on the frontline of the immigration crackdown have successfully stopped the ICE deportation centers by utilizing zoning, city ordinances and lawsuits. ICE warehouses have been under nationwide scrutiny for their poor conditions and lack of proper food and medical care available to detainees. Keeping human beings in a warehouse like objects is not ethical, yet Jones sent only a single letter to the DHS secretary.
Public outcry against the detention center in San Antonio has become so great that city politicians must take notice or risk losing constituent faith. On April 16, the City Council voted to create a new city ordinance preventing the development of deportation warehouses within city limits. The new ordinance does not affect the warehouse that has already been bought by DHS on the northeast-side of San Antonio. Not only should new deportation holding sites be stopped, but so should the development of the existing warehouse.
Unless San Antonio citizens continue to vocalize their complaints and concerns to the mayor, the apathy of the city will open doors for the DHS to continue their inhumane practices. Jones is in office by the consent of the people and should take the concerns of San Antonionians seriously. Without further action, San Antonio will become known not for its diversity or culture but as a deportation site. Citizens should continue to appear at city council meetings, join demonstrations and make their voices heard.
