HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Three months after federal agents raided a birthday party in Hays County, basic details about the operation remain shrouded in secrecy, including how many people were actually detained.
At a press conference Thursday morning at the Hays County Courthouse, community advocates and local officials said they have received no substantive information about the April 1 raid that resulted in the detention of what organizers said were 49 Venezuelan nationals, including several children. That number differs from earlier reports that put the figure at 40 or 47 people.
Karen Muñoz, associate counsel at LatinoJustice and a Hays County resident, said the lack of information reflects broader issues with immigration enforcement.
“We now know the names and whereabouts of some of the people taken from our community,” Muñoz said. “Our elected officials have pushed for answers beyond that and have been met with silence.”
Federal agencies and the Texas Department of Public Safety have claimed the operation targeted members believed to be part of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, but have not provided evidence to support that assertion.
“We have zero reason to believe that. The false claims are just that — false,” said Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra, the county’s top elected official who recently led the county commissioners court in passing a resolution calling for due process and humane treatment of immigrants.
Becerra said he has received no information about the raid despite repeated requests to federal agencies.
“I’ve reached out to all levels of federal government and all different branches, and we have received a boilerplate ridiculous sheet of paper that is a generic three sentence press release,” he said.
ICE veteran weighs in on agency practices
Scott Mechkowski, who worked for Immigration and Customs Enforcement from 1996 to 2018, including during the first Trump administration, said the agency’s approach to information sharing during enforcement operation is standard practice.
“There’s a lot of things that go into an investigation,” said Mechkowski, who retired as deputy field office director from the New York Field Office. “While the investigation’s ongoing, they aren’t going to say too much, and that’s normal for any agency.”
Mechkowski said the raid could have been part of a larger transnational case involving the Venezuelan gang, though he said he was not familiar with the specifics of the Dripping Springs operation.
When asked about local officials’ requests for information, Mechkowski said proper channels exist for such requests. “They can go to their congressman. They could ask them for an explanation, and then if it’s an ongoing investigation, they’ll get bits and pieces,” he said.
Becerra said his attempts through official channels have not yielded information.
Terrell County Sheriff Thad Cleveland, a former Border Patrol agent with 26 years of experience, said agencies should balance transparency with operational security.
“I believe it’s good if an agency at any level of government provides feedback to the communities as to the result of their operations. However, depending if there is an ongoing investigation or specifics that could hamper their investigation, they may not provide details until the investigation is complete,” Cleveland said.
Cleveland said providing details of operations helps avoid conspiracy theories and dispel rumors. He said ICE may limit advance information sharing because some operations have been leaked, putting agents and officers at risk.
Constitutional questions raised
Former Hays County District Judge Bill Henry said the raid raises constitutional issues. “One of the criticisms that Americans had with King George is that he arrested people and took them to foreign lands. And here we are with another wannabe King who’s doing the same thing,” Henry said.
Muñoz said the raid may indicate increased collaboration between local and federal immigration enforcement, particularly given the passage of Senate Bill 8, which requires certain local sheriffs to work with ICE.
U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat who represents the area, said he is seeking transparency from federal agencies about the raid.
“In far too many cases, Donald Trump’s immigration policies are ripping apart families and going after people who have done nothing wrong. We are demanding transparency from ICE about the Dripping Springs raid, and we encourage anyone facing challenges with the federal government to contact our offices,” Casar said.
Families seek information
The press conference concluded with a statement from families affected by the raid, read by organizers. “Our families deserve answers for why they were taken away. We don’t know where they are, where they are being detained, and when we ask for those answers, we are told no one can help us.”
The statement said many of those detained were “fleeing those same gangs they are accusing us of being in” and “fleeing government kidnappings, only to come here and suffer the same fate.”
At the courthouse, organizers placed 49 roses to represent each person they said was detained.
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