Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio’s newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
The San Antonio Police Department will cooperate with federal authorities to enforce President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement actions, according to a statement from the city.
Trump has promised sweeping mass deportations in communities across the country, and the U.S. Department of Justice recently threatened to prosecute local officials standing in the way of immigration enforcement.
The threats come alongside the largest expected mass deportation effort in U.S. history.
The city’s statement said SAPD has a long history of cooperating with federal authorities on immigration enforcement and would continue to do so, consistent with applicable laws.
“Given that some of the contemplated enforcement actions have never been attempted, the City’s participation in any enforcement activity will be facilitated by effective communication and planning with federal authorities,” the statement read.
In 2022, The City of San Antonio paid $300,000 to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office in a settlement to end two lawsuits over a 2017 human smuggling incident. Paxton sued the city saying it violated the state’s controversial Senate Bill 4 — known as an anti-sanctuary cities law.
The office of Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar released a statement of its own concerning Justice Department threats against local and state officials over the enforcement of Trump’s immigration policies.
“The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has not received any requests to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” read the statement. “Of course, we will abide by all applicable laws.”
SAPD and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office have not been targeted by the U.S. Justice Department. However, Salazar was asked by TPR to respond to the broader threat to local and state officials across the country.
The third term Democratic Sheriff spoke this past August at the Democratic National Convention in support of the party’s presidential nominee Kamala Harris. He also used his time in the national spotlight to blast Trump over his border policies.
“When Donald Trump comes down to Texas, stands next to officers in uniforms, just like mine, he’s not there to help us. Don’t think that. Not for a second,” Salazar said. “He is self-serving. I mean like when he killed the border bill, he just made our jobs harder.”
Salazar, who is one of the longest serving sheriffs in decades, also told TPR in the past he does not back open border policies.
According to the Wall Street Journal, San Antonio was on the list of the first cities to be targeted in deportation raids. While there have been raids in other cities — including Boston and Newark — they have not been carried out in the San Antonio area as of Thursday evening.
