Increased immigration enforcement has concerned the Rio Grande Valley community about how the presence of federal agents is affecting residents.
Alvaro Corral, assistant professor in the school of Political Science, Public Affairs, Legal and Security Studies, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have been conducting a “shadow surge.”
Corral said instead of large and highly visible operations in certain cities, federal immigration has been conducting smaller operations across multiple areas.
“They’ve been a bit more targeted and fast and nimble,” he said.
Corral said increased law enforcement could affect the daily lives of those living in the RGV such as residents’ trust in law enforcement.
One recent incident that has brought attention to immigration in the Valley was an encounter two teenagers had with ICE in Alamo.
According to Corral, the teenagers’ account described they stopped after seeing ICE agents conduct an operation and started recording the agents from their vehicle.
He added people have the right to record law enforcement as long as they do not interfere with officers performing their duties.
“They were simply recording law agents, presumably from their car,” Corral said.
The video circulated online showed federal agents using force while detaining the teenagers. Corral said the teenagers filed a report to the Alamo Police Department which was then forwarded to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.
DHS had disputed the teenagers’ account of the incident, according to Corral, who said the department referred to them as “anti-ICE agitators.”
He added that the public may not know the result of the investigation until DHS releases the findings.
The incident has caught the attention of the public in the Valley.
Leslie Rojas, a music freshman, said she had seen part of the video but was unaware of what happened prior to the portion she watched.
Rojas said she hopes residents will eventually be able to walk freely and enjoy their lives.
“It’s not fair to them to be locked up in their own house because they’re scared to go out,” she said.
Gabriela Alvarez, an accounting freshman, said one of her friends’ moms is afraid to go out outside because of the increase of ICE.
“She has papers, but she’s scared that ICE is gonna, like come and … pick them up,” Alvarez said.
Corral said the situation can discourage people from interacting with law enforcement or government agencies and may also play a role in how residents go out in public.
He added residents who are worried about cooperation with law enforcement and federal authorities may be less willing to report crimes.
Corral said business owners have reported a decrease of sales in downtown McAllen and other areas of the Valley which causes owners to speculate their clientele is fearful of being in public. Fear may contribute to residents limiting their everyday activities such as work, school and grocery shopping.
“If folks aren’t going around shopping and spending money, we can see how that there’s sort of downstream effects that are negative [for] the economy,” Corral said.
