SAN ANTONIO, Texas — In yet another chapter of the saga to stop a planned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in San Antonio, protesters organized by the Bexar County Democrats held a march and rally that began and ended at a local public middle school. Protesters, some carrying signs with vulgar messages, fanned out in front of the campus shouting anti-ICE slogans during the early Saturday morning protest.
The anti-ICE protest, dubbed the “March for Freedom and Justice” and held at Davis Middle School, featured an appearance by U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX). Protesters carried multiple signs and included static displays on the campus with vulgar messages.
Bexar County Democratic Party
One static display over a table under a tent read, “Fuck DHS,” while another prominently displayed a large Mexican flag with similar messaging critical of ICE. The rally concluded after San Antonio police officers escorted the group of more than one hundred protesters to the proposed ICE facility and back to the public-school campus.
Breitbart Texas attended the event at the Davis Middle School campus, which is part of the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD). A request for information from SAISD about the partisan-sponsored anti-ICE event on the Davis campus, which included a voter registration drive, remains unanswered as of press time.
Democrat-Backed Anti-ICE Protesters March on Failing San Antonio Middle School with Vulgar Displays (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
The Bexar County Democratic Party advertised the event on its website in a passionate plea for activists to join the protest that read, “Bexar County and the city of San Antonio are outraged that the Trump administration has purchased and plans to open a warehouse on the East side to detain our immigrant neighbors. Not on our watch. Join us on Saturday, October 3, at 8 am. We’ll gather at Davis Middle School, 4702 E. Houston St. Congressman Joaquin Castro, Commissioner Tommy Calvert, and Father Jimmy Drennan will address the attendees.”
Davis College Prep Middle School, on the Davis Middle School campus at 4702 East Houston Street, where the rally and protest began, was recently named one of 33 Bexar County Schools to receive an F rating from the Texas Education Agency. According to a report by Public School Review, Davis Middle School ranks 7,954 out of 8,096 public middle schools in Texas. Davis Middle School was separately awarded a D rating, placing it 1,418 out of 1,890 Texas middle schools.
The campus is one of 85 public schools managed by the San Antonio Independent School District. In July, the San Antonio ISD School Board voted 5-2 to select Dr. Adrian Bustillos to fill the district’s vacant Superintendent position. Bustillos’ selection came despite his involvement in a districtwide cheating scandal.
A report in the Texan News described the selection process for Bustillos and referred to the El Paso cheating scandal, in which administrators artificially inflated student test scores to skew the federally mandated accountability system.
According to the report, the Texas Education Agency handed down a one-year probated suspension of Bustillos’ teaching certificate in 2017 as a result of the cheating scandal.
The protest and march emanating from the Davis Middle School campus drew a slew of activist groups that included the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and the Brown Berets, a pro-Chicano paramilitary organization that describes its members as militants and not activists.
UPDATE: On Monday, the San Antonio Independent School District responded to Breitbart’s inquiry, saying:
The district makes its facilities available for lease to outside organizations. Approval of a rental agreement does not constitute district sponsorship, endorsement, or affiliation with the organization or its activities. The district does not discriminate against speech or expression based on viewpoint.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBT