What to know about immigration enforcement in Austin
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Federal authorities conducted enforcement operations in the Austin area over the weekend, just days after President Trump began his second term and vowed to crack down on immigration.
Driving the news: A spokesperson with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement first told KXAN of the "enhanced targeted operations" in Austin on Sunday.
- "[ICE], along with federal partners including the DEA and ATF began conducting enhanced targeted operations today in Austin to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities," Monica Yoas, ICE Southwest Region's acting media operations unit chief, told the news outlet.
- Austin police and Travis County Sheriff's officials said they had not been notified in advance and did not have information about the scale of the operations or the number of arrests.
What they're saying: Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis told KVUE that she contacted federal officials after receiving reports about their activity in Austin. She was told they were serving warrants for "wanted violent offenders."
- "At the end of the day, these are people APD would be looking for as well. They were wanted for violent offenses," Davis told KVUE.
Zoom in: Protesters gathered at the Texas Capitol on Sunday afternoon, following reports of the enforcement operations.
- "It doesn't surprise me — more than anything, it saddens me. This was very much anticipated, [President Trump] talked about this for a really long time," Anna Palito, who attended the demonstration, told KXAN.
- "I just feel like everybody felt like they needed to do something about it, instead of just kind of standing around and waiting for things to change."
Zoom out: Austin was one of several Texas cities that saw similar raids Sunday.
- Enforcement operations were reported in San Antonio, Laredo and Houston, along with 84 arrests across North Texas.
- The Trump administration also oversaw immigration enforcement efforts in Chicago on Sunday, with 956 arrests in one day.
By the numbers: Roughly 1.6 million undocumented immigrants live in Texas, according to Pew Research Center.
- About 81,000 undocumented people live in Travis County, per 2019 data from the Migration Policy Institute.