Mayor OJ Update on ICE
By George Rodriguez
October 25, 2026 · El Conservador
Once again, San Antonio's Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones is involving herself in national security and immigration issues. She is asking the Trump administration to reconsider how immigration enforcement affects military families who are pursuing U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, while she continues to fight against the building of an ICE facility in San Antonio.
However, this more political grandstanding by the more for her far leftist activists supporters.
Mayor OJ and Military Families
The mayor asked the departments of Defense and Homeland Security to express concerns about San Antonio's identity as Military City USA and the number of active-duty service members, veterans and reservists who are of Hispanic descent. She cited a report by "The Atlantic" that Giovanna Perez, a soldier's wife, was detained by ICE in late September 2026.
Jones called the reported detention troubling. Speaking after a town hall Wednesday night, she said supporting service members should include respecting their families, regardless of citizenship.
"As the mayor of Military City USA, I felt a unique responsibility to do so," Jones said of raising the issue.
The mayor also expressed concern that incidents involving military spouses could discourage future enlistment, particularly in communities where generations of families have served.
KENS 5 will follow the administration's response to the mayor's request.
City continues to fight against proposed ICE detention facility
Ortiz Jones said the city has not received a meaningful response from federal officials regarding its lawsuit challenging the proposed ICE detention facility on the East Side.
"We don't have anything to share on the lawsuit, but the reason we filed the lawsuit is because we didn't get any information," she said.
The mayor also reiterated her opposition to proposed 15-year federal leases involving the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security at Brooks.
She expressed concern that the detention facility and other federal immigration operations could turn parts of San Antonio into a major immigration enforcement hub.
Ortiz Jones argued that such facilities could discourage businesses from investing in the East and South sides, where the city has spent years trying to encourage economic development.
"We do not want to be that kind of hub," she said.