Hundreds gather in Corpus Christi to say: “Chinga La Migra”
By Beatz Alvarado
Violent immigration raids and fatal arrests in Minneapolis at the hands of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) galvanized close to 400 Corpus Christi residents to participate in an anti-ICE protest at Water's Edge Park on Saturday.
“It’s affecting everyone – your immigration status no longer matters,” said K. J., who spearheaded the spontaneous grassroots event with a friend. “It’s gotten to the point where silence is violence.”
K. J., who leads Coastal Queers Community Resources, requested their full name not be published.
Coastal Queers Community Resources, Coastal Bend ICE Watch and Progressives of the Coastal Bend helped organize the afternoon protest, K. J. said.
The protest attracted a diverse set of new faces, said Ellison Powers with Coastal Bend ICE Watch.
“The important thing now is to put that power to work and get some real organizing done and more direct action planned for the future,” Powers said.
Coastal Bend ICE Watch, a grassroots group of residents “putting eyes on ICE to document and broadcast sightings” is currently seeking volunteers.
In 2025, the group formed in response to the ongoing harassment and disappearances of community members in Corpus Christi and across the Coastal Bend by ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.
Nation-wide anti-ICE protests
The ongoing occupation of Minneapolis by ICE and the death of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti on Jan. 27 have sparked nationwide protests.
Similar to past targeted immigration enforcement in California, in December the Trump Administration ordered ICE raids and aggressive patrols that have led to many wearing passports around their neck out of fear.
Immigration agents were met with hostility from Minnesota residents, protesters and local police due to the agency’s growingly violent and fatal enforcement tactics. A leaked internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo encouraged forced entry without warrants by agents conducting door-to-door raids, for example.
The occupation hit a crisis point on Jan. 7, when ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot Reneé Good. The response by DHS Kristi Noem and former CBP commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, referring to Good as a “domestic terrorist,” were echoed that same month when Pretti was shot and killed by agents after he helped a woman who fell to the ground after she was pepper sprayed by law enforcement.
As of Jan. 29, the two agents involved in Pretti's shooting have been placed on administrative leave.
That same month, masked agents shot and wounded Julio Sosa-Celis – also in Minnesota. The kidnapping of 5-year-old Liam Ramos along with his father further provoked a protest response by Americans everywhere.
As of Feb. 1, Liam and his father have been released from a Dilley, Texas, detention center and were transported to their home in Minnesota.
ICE's and the Trump administration’s escalations have led to the politicization of many Americans.
Chloe Torres, who attended the Corpus Christi protest with other members of the Corpus Christi Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, said now is the time to get plugged in.
“We have to remember that the antidote to despair is collective action,” Torres said. “The way you go about that is to join a political organization.”
Plugs <3
You can follow Coastal Queers Community Resources on Instagram.
You can follow Coastal Bend ICE Watch on Instagram and Facebook or email coastalbendicewatch@gmail.com to get involved.
You can follow Progressives of the Coastal Bend on Instagram and Facebook.
You can follow Corpus Christi DSA on Instagram and Facebook or visit their website.
