Protests Erupt Across Texas Over Immigration Raids

Texas – Demonstrations against federal immigration enforcement escalated across several major Texas cities on June 9, with tensions boiling over into vandalism and clashes with police.

In the state capital of Austin, protesters marched to the Texas Capitol building, chanting slogans in support of the growing protest movement in Los Angeles and denouncing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The crowd later split in two—one group remained near the Capitol, while the other marched toward the J.J. Pickle Federal Building, which houses the local ICE office.

Local media reported that some demonstrators defaced the federal building, spray-painting anti-ICE and anti-Trump messages on its glass doors. Although organizers had a permit to march until 8 p.m., large groups lingered near the Capitol and the federal building well past the deadline. Police moved in with tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse those who refused to leave.

Similar protests also took place in Houston and San Antonio, where demonstrators accused ICE and Texas state law enforcement of violating legal protocols during immigration raids.

In a statement, an ICE spokesperson said the agency respects Americans’ constitutional right to peaceful protest but emphasized that immigration laws will continue to be enforced.

“ICE places public safety above politics. Our officers risk their lives every day to locate, arrest, and remove the most dangerous criminal offenders—exactly in line with President Trump’s ‘criminal priority’ policy,” the spokesperson said.

Los Angeles remains the flashpoint in the growing nationwide backlash to immigration crackdowns. Mass protests erupted there on June 6 after at least 44 people were detained in ICE raids. As tensions escalated into violent clashes, President Trump ordered 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to be deployed to support ICE in the city—despite strong objections from California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

(Sources: CBS, Statesman, Texas Tribune)