Weeks before a high-stakes Texas congressional runoff, a San Antonio Democratic candidate announced plans to repurpose a South Texas migrant detention facility into an internment camp for "American Zionists," according to the San Antonio Current. In a weekend Instagram post, Maureen Galindo – running for the newly redrawn 35th Congressional District seat – targeted the Karnes ICE Detention Center, currently operated by the Trump administration to hold migrants.
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Writing in the third person, Galindo laid out her vision in terms that immediately drew national condemnation. "She'll turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking," she wrote. "It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists."
Those remarks compounded weeks of escalating controversy surrounding Galindo's campaign, with the May 26 Democratic primary runoff now looming. Her opponent in that contest – former Bexar County Public Information Officer Johnny Garcia – has been accused by Galindo of involvement in a human trafficking operation she attributed to billionaire Zionist Jews; she also called, during a Texas Public Radio interview, for Garcia to be tried for treason.
More broadly, Galindo has promoted the claim that a Jewish Zionist network exercises control over Hollywood, the press, and local officeholders.
Pressed on the controversy, Galindo told San Antonio Current and other media that her grievances target Zionists – those who support the existence of a Jewish state in the ancestral Jewish homeland – and not the Jewish people as a whole. "I think it's actually the Zionists who are putting Jewish people at the most risk," she said.
This is absolutely disgusting.
This bigoted garbage and antisemitism should be nowhere near our politics.
If you're in TX-35, vote for @johnnygarciatx.
And the donors behind the Republican super PAC funding her should be exposed. https://t.co/0rnQrd1P4b
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 19, 2026
The San Antonio Jewish Federation (JFSA) rejected that framing. "The JFSA strongly condemns the spread of antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories in public discourse," the group stated. "Divisive and hateful rhetoric targeting the Jewish community has no place in our civic life."
As Galindo's statements grew more extreme, prominent Democrats moved to sever ties with her campaign. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, known for her anti-Israel stance, wrote on X: "This is absolutely disgusting. This bigoted garbage and antisemitism should be nowhere near our politics." John Lira, her defeated primary rival, pulled his endorsement last week. State Rep. James Talarico – the Democratic nominee for Texas's US Senate race – told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Friday he would refuse to appear alongside Galindo on the campaign trail, win or lose. "This antisemitic rhetoric has no place in our politics," Talarico said. "We need leadership in both parties willing to stand up and call out hate where it rears its ugly head."
