Texas Monthly Senior Taco Editor Jose Ralat — a two-time James Beard Award winner — said he was pulled over and questioned by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while traveling through West Texas on assignment.
Ralat, who’s built a national following for his expert reporting on tacos and regional Mexican food, frequently travels throughout Texas for work. He detailed the encounter with federal agents in a three-part Instagram video titled “Taco Editor meets ICE,” which he posted this week. According to Ralat, the incident occurred near Presidio, a small border town in the Big Bend region.
“Well, it finally happened — I came face to face with ICE agents,” Ralat said in one of the clips, adding that he and his colleague Rodrigo Bravo were stopped while driving in the area.
Ralat said the agents questioned them about their movements, including why they doubled back on the road. The pair explained they were journalists traveling for work.
“They peppered us with questions,” Ralat said, describing the interaction as “tense” and adding that the ICE personnel kept them waiting. “They wanted us to get anxious. It worked.”
But the day didn’t end after the agents let them go, Ralat further explained. A DPS pulled later pulled the pair over — their third such encounter for the day — and accused them of speeding.
“She claimed we were going 77 in a 70 miles per hour zone … we knew that was wrong,” Ralat said. “The young officer said she loved tacos, and I said, ‘You know what? Only good people do,’” he added, explaining that he was trying to keep the peace.
After they were let go with a second warning, Ralat said that he and Bravo speculated whether the last two stops by law enforcement — one by the ICE agents, the other by DPS — amounted to a coordinated effort.
“Did they pull us over because we were brown?” Ralat wondered. He warned viewers to be careful and noted that every single one of the law enforcement officers he and Bravo encountered were also brown. “Like us.”
Adding that he had a lot of support from Texas Monthly, his family and his documents (“I travel with a passport now,” Ralat noted), the senior taco editor admitted how shaken he was.
“I can’t wait for this to be over,” he said.
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