Presence sparks tension at rodeo
Some say agency ‘spread fear’ with recruitment effort on Go Tejano Day
The Border Patrol was at the rodeo on Sunday to bolster recruiting efforts, but some say it created tension for Latinos on Go Tejano Day.
It started with what looked like an unnerving photo: windowless Border Patrol vans parked outside the Houston Rodeo.
And as the image spread online in the run-up to Sunday’s Go Tejano Day, it seeded fear and rumors of roundups in the local Hispanic community in light of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“They don’t need to be spreading fear or instigating further tension between people with different skin tones,” said Yvonne Hernandez, a Houstonian who comes from a family of immigrants.
But the picture didn’t give the full story; U.S. Customs and Border Patrol had simply turned up to bolster recruiting efforts. Even so, some locals were angry and nervous over the agency’s unexpected presence at a family event.
“It’s kind of rude,” said 26-year-old Jake Johnson as he walked past the Border Patrol’s NRG Center table during Sunday’s Tejano extravaganza, which narrowly broke the rodeo’s concert attendance record despite the climate of uncertainty in the Houston immigrant community.
Just days earlier, Philadelphia announced the cancellation of its main Cinco de Mayo celebration amid fears of ICE raids. The federal agency confirmed Friday that it wasn’t attending the rodeo for recruiting or enforcement purposes.
This is the second year CBP set up a recruiting booth at the annual event, according to a statement from the rodeo. But in light of Trump’s hard-line anti-immigration rhetoric and deportation promises, some locals found this year’s showing troubling.
“When you see someone in uniform or a vehicle that has ICE or Border Patrol, people without documents are going to be frightened,” said local socialist activist David Michael Smith.
Even for those with documents, the immigration presence can be troubling.
Victor Ibarra, an activist with Latinos Inmigrantes Triunfadores, said that some in the community are angry at the rodeo for allowing CBP to set up shop
at the event.
Others talked about staying home.
“People are saying they’re not going because they’re scared,” Ibarra said.
Hernandez didn’t find that surprising.
“I’m nervous about going and getting harassed, and I’m a U.S. citizen,” she said. “Because we have seen that some legal residents have been harassed and deported, the mention of Border Patrol concerns us.”
She added that her niece worries that Border Patrol will deport her grandparents.
‘Same hostile attitude’
The family day at the rodeo last week went off without a hitch, but Hernandez said Border Patrol presence could send the wrong message.
“Just as Trump’s comments and attitude towards immigrants, particularly Latinos, has given a pass for others to explicitly express their racism to others, BP’s presence at the rodeo further instigates that same hostile attitude towards the Latino community,” she said.
Resist Houston activist Melanie Villela thought CBP’s presence showed a lack of consideration.
“I would think they would look at what’s going on with immigration issues and the wall and talk of ICE rounding up people, and I would think they would be a little more thoughtful to please not come and recruit at the rodeo,” she said.
On Sunday, five agents manned a small table just a few booths down from a row of university stands. Some passersby stopped to chat about career paths. Many seemed unconcerned by the agency’s presence on the floor, although some described it as “weird” and “random.”
Presence ‘encouraging’
Cesar Luna thought it seemed reasonable that Border Patrol would show up since other organizations were out recruiting as well.
“It is encouraging that they’re getting more people involved,” he said.