Villalobos: I’m gonna start ruffling feathers over ICE raids in RGV

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – South Texas Business Partnership held I South Texas Summit June 9 at the Embassy Suites in San Antonio where Mcallen Mayor Javier Villalobos and Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda had a discussion about recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids affecting the Rio Grande Valley community and businesses.

According to FoxRGV, there has been confirmation of over 50 arrested undocumented immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley since June 2.

“We are having issues in what is being presented on the national level in regard to immigration,” Sepulveda said. “It is trickling down to our communities in South Texas and it is a hard topic to talk about but it is really important.”

The deportations have developed in local businesses in the Rio Grande Valley, such as El Control Mexican Restaurant in Harlingen, raided on Monday, and Taqueria El Mante in San Benito and Harlingen also raided over the weekend. During the South Texas Summit, Villalobos said he was likely in the minority being one of the few Republicans on the panel, yet he will be urging legislators and senators over the mass deportations.

“Several places were raided…it is like a drag net, it is going to affect us all,” Villalobos said. “They are stopping developments, they are stopping building constructions, economic developments. There are some people that are loving it but wait till the prices start going up. I am blessed that I can afford a little higher prices…a lot of people that are for it may not be so, that is something that is very important and I am gonna start ruffling feathers.”

Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda speaks at the 2025 South Texas Summit.

Sepulveda said she knew what to expect from the impact of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids as an immigration lawyer and asks for members in opposing political parties to join together to resolve the issue at hand.

“It is not a political issue…it is not about right or left,” Sepulveda said. “It is about what is best for our communities because that is what we are here for, to represent the voices of our communities.”

Editor’s Note: Here is a video recording of the comments Mayors Villalobos and Sepulveda made about the ICE raids:

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