Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s San Antonio Field Office won’t say whether the agency plans to carry out enforcement operations at this year’s San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and Fiesta celebrations.
The Current last Tuesday asked ICE San Antonio Field Office spokeswoman Nina Pruneda whether agents will conduct immigration sweeps at the Rodeo, which runs Feb. 12-March 1, and citywide Fiesta celebrations, which take place April 16-26. Pruneda responded that she would “look into” the matter, but the agency has offered no followup and failed to respond to four subsequent email inquiries.
Neither the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo nor the Fiesta San Antonio Commission responded to the Current’s request for comment on the matter.
Combined, the two gatherings have an economic impact of more than $600 million annually, according to City of San Antonio data. The Stockshow & Rodeo attracts roughly 1.3 million visitors, organizer said, while Fiesta draws some 3 million, according to Visit San Antonio.
The lack of clarity about ICE’s enforcement plans during two of the city’s largest annual public events comes as officials in Santa Clara, California, expressed concern that federal immigration officials might carry out raids connected to this year’s Super Bowl — a threat voiced by the Trump White House.
“It’s been months where there’s been threats of them coming. Constant, constant threats,” Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor told Rolling Stone this week.
Similar concerns about ICE enforcement led to a drop in attendance at the 2025 Texas State Fair. Last year’s California State Fair also recorded a decline in visitors, in part to due concerns about possible immigration sweeps.
Further, there are a growing number of instances where ICE has conducted immigration enforcement at recent large-scale community events.
During a FIFA Club World Cup final last year at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, an asylum seeker from Colombia attending the match with his children was arrested by ICE after he allegedly flew a drone too close to the stadium.
ICE also raided a horse track in Idaho in connection to an alleged illegal gambling operation, which led to 105 arrests. Another 80 people were taken into custody at a track in Louisiana last year as part of a ICE worksite enforcement sweep.
On the flip side, New York State Fair officials earned praise from immigrant-rights advocates after organizers there said they would enforce a policy preventing ICE agents from engaging in civil enforcement on the fairgrounds unless they produce a judicial warrant.
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones declined comment on whether ICE officials had contacted her office about possible enforcement actions at the Rodeo and Fiesta.
ICE raids and the city
During tense community meeting last month, the majority of San Antonio City Council voiced opposition to ongoing ICE operations in the city.
“I mean, look at this council. Just look at us,” Jones said to anti-ICE speakers following the meeting’s five-hour public comment session. “We share, frankly, in your fear and your frustration.”
District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez was more blunt.
“I do want to say politely, we should not collaborate or cooperate with ICE,” he said. “And I say in as disrespectful a way as possible, abolish ICE, fuck [Senate Bill] 4 and vice versa.”
Passed in 2017, Texas Senate Bill 4 made sanctuary cities illegal in the state and mandated that local police departments cooperate with ICE enforcement.
In the law’s wake, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the City of San Antonio after the local police union contacted his office to accuse SAPD of not following SB 4 protocols. The ensuing court battle cost the city nearly $3 million in legal fees.
In recent weeks, San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus has sought to assure residents that his department isn’t conducting immigration enforcement. In other words, SAPD officers don’t walk up to people on the streets and ask for papers documenting their legal status, according to the chief.
However, state law requires local police to assist ICE if asked, McManus said during a town hall this Monday. In most cases, that assistance involves providing perimeter security while federal agents conducts operations.
“We are required to work with federal agencies by SB 4,” McManus said. “We don’t have a choice of doing that, and the law says that we have to cooperate. There’s a lot of different definitions of cooperating, but we are required to cooperate.”
Further, if SAPD takes someone into custody on a criminal charge and the suspect is undocumented, the department is required to notify ICE, according to the chief.
Online concerns
The threat of ICE enforcement at the Rodeo and Fiesta comes as some San Antonio residents expressed online concerns about the safety of the events for undocumented attendees. Indeed, some commenters said they’re willing to sit out the fun this year to send a signal.
“San Antonio wants to fully fund and support ICE, but still expects our community to show up for Fiesta and drop hundreds on beer, food, games and parking? Nah,” local health and beauty influencer Everything Erica Does posted on Facebook last month.
“Maybe we show the city what happens when we take our dollars elsewhere. Support local Latino businesses. Throw your own block parties. Keep the money in the community.”
That post garnered nearly 6,000 likes and 3,000 shares.
Meanwhile, San Antonio activist Molly Ague told the Current she’s been sending direct messages on Instagram urging people to sit out Fiesta and the Rodeo over fears they could be targeted by ICE.
“Don’t celebrate Fiesta and Rodeo and don’t forget to call your elected representatives, the city and county even though they don’t give a rat’s ass about ICE oppression,” Ague said in a mass direct message, which went out to more than 100 people.
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