Trinity student group Students for Change and organization Revolución Violeta held a nearly 45-minute protest outside City Hall in opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on April 1. The two event organizers spoke with microphones and displayed signs condemning ICE’s presence in the community, specifically criticizing the 287(g) Memorandum of Agreement between ICE and Bexar County. Following this protest, the two organizers, along with the two other attendees, went inside City Hall to participate in San Antonio’s weekly City Council public comment session held every Wednesday.
The 287(g) Warrant Service Officer Model agreement authorizes jail officers to serve arrest warrants and process individuals for deportation. An organizer of the event, Alynn Jimenez Miranda, junior international studies and political science double-major, said that policy needs to be addressed, and her main goal in going was to raise awareness of the Memorandum. She also expressed other concerns, including an upcoming Commissioners Court hearing to debate whether to renew the Immigrant Legal Defense Fund, as well as the ICE-owned warehouse set to be a detention facility in November 2026.
“I feel deeply uncomfortable knowing that our city that proclaims to be a welcoming and compassionate city that accepts everyone and values everyone as equal, accepts and allows these kinds of things to happen, and we don’t see any public condemnation,” Jimenez Miranda said.
As a student activist, Jimenez Miranda said it’s important to support the ongoing efforts around San Antonio. While Jimenez Miranda and Kennedi Heim, sophomore human communication major, organized the April 1 protest, they also collaborated with other San Antonio organizations, including San Antonio Students for Peace and ICE Out of San Antonio. Neither of these organizations showed up to the protest on April 1, but Heim said that even two people showing up is a win.
“It’s not short, it’s not quick. It’s long, and sometimes it starts with one, two, three people showing up. Then the numbers rise, and then there’s always a win,” said Heim. “This is the first time we’re doing something like this: asking Trinity students to leave their Trinity bubble, come outside of campus and speak up, not just reshare a post on Fizz.”
Heim said that student movements and organizers need to redirect and figure out what will get people to participate. It’s especially hard to get people to go to City Hall spontaneously on a weekday night, she said, and she and Jimenez Miranda plan to hold a more formalized event in the future. Both organizations plan to go to the City Hall public comment session on the first Wednesday of every month to voice their concerns, and will have carpool systems to make it easier for students to join. Heim said that ultimately, participation depends on the people wanting to support the cause.
“I feel like what’s going to get students out here today, even if it doesn’t, is their own passion. Their own passion for the cause, their own commitment, their own discipline,” Heim said.
Drew Norris, sophomore human communication major and member of Trinity University PRIDE, attended the protest after hearing about it through Instagram. They said ICE has affected multiple people in their life, and that they are afraid of being hurt and targeted by the agency. They added that as a member of the trans community, they have seen many instances where undocumented LGBTQ+ people have come under disparate violence and harm due to their identity.
“There’s no justice in my community if it’s only based on who has a green card,” Norris said.
While only four Trinity students showed up to the protest, passers by stood and displayed support outside of City Hall. Heim said that what matters for her is showing up and doing what you can, even if you’re “just talking to the air.”
