Agents took 26 into custody June 26
On Thursday, June 26, ICE detained 26 contractors working to remediate the Memorial Student Union Building at the A&M Kingsville campus. No TAMUK students or personnel were detained.
A co-worker of the detainees said most had permission to work in the country but were told by ICE agents they were overdue for court hearings. ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) agents were already on campus – with some allegedly hiding in the building – when contractors arrived at work.
The raid began at about 7 a.m. and the area was cleared by 9 a.m. TAMUK Spanish professor Dr. Robert Vela-Cordova posted a photo on Facebook that shows individuals in hard hats and safety vests surrounded by what appears to be law enforcement, some wearing ICE shirts and masks, behind the MSUB. There were also as many as eight vehicles blocking the parking lot behind the MSUB.
The presence of construction workers was noticeably smaller at the MSUB. One worker from Cotton Disaster Solutions—the company responsible for the recovery efforts following the recent fire—confirmed to The South Texan the presence of ICE and the detention of dozens of workers.
Freddie, a contracted employee of the company being identified only by his first name, said agents were lying in wait.
“They took like 30. They were already here—they were hiding when we arrived; they were hiding behind some of the dumpsters and hallways,” Freddie said in Spanish. “There were seven or eight cars. When we entered, they blocked the pathway. We all work in groups; they were my friends. They took them to the offices close by. We are still very scared. They told us to go back to work, but we are just sitting here and contacting the families of the ones they took.”
Freddie’s wife – who did not what her name used, said: “They had papers, but if they had courts outstanding like three years, they took them.” She said she was afraid.
Freddie said the contracted workforce includes 70 employees from Texas, Florida and other regional areas. About 30 of these workers were detained due to upcoming court dates.
The university, as well as the University Police Department (UPD), did not make an official statement regarding the incident to The South Texan, despite visits to UPD and the Marketing and Communication Department Thursday morning and afternoon. At about 3 p.m. Thursday, the university released this statement:
“At approximately 7 a.m. Thursday, federal agents were present on campus this morning related to an investigation of general laborers currently working on the Memorial Student Union remediation project. University Police Department officials were on site to ensure campus security throughout the investigation. It is important to note that no Texas A&M-Kingsville employees or students were involved in the investigation. Authorities cleared campus by 9 a.m. Initially, officials detained 26 individuals for additional screening. The contractor reports that they anticipate all 26 individuals will return to the campus work site by the end of [June 26].”
There were game wardens tracking with a dog on campus, but that was a training exercise. According to a State Trooper Arizola, this was a training exercise, unrelated to the ICE incident.
“We had somebody lay a trap for this dog. It’s a tracking dog, and right now, it’s trying to find the track,” Arizola said. “With our agency, we have to do eight hours a week,” he explained. “We train to find missing people and people that run from the police—wanted subjects,” Arizola continued.
Vela-Cordova said such raids on campus are a disgrace.
“It is a disgrace that in an educational institution that primarily serves the Hispanic community, such moral atrocities are committed,” Cordova said in Spanish. “This is a sign of an abusive state that targets the most vulnerable. The university community and administration should condemn these abuses. This is the second raid on campus.
“The Academic Senate should take a position of condemnation,” Cordova continued. “The university should not be a place of fear, but of dialogue. We must not destroy the workers but defend them. We must not lower the human spirit but lift it up.”