Area activists hold protest at airport to focus on migrants

A local activist group recently conducted a protest at the San Marcos Regional Airport to bring attention to the treatment of migrants nationally and to make a specific request of the city.

Members of Mano Amiga said at the protest held Sunday, Oct. 15, that it wants the city to take action and terminate the lease of Berry Aviation Inc., which operates out of the airport.

According to Mano Amiga, their request is based on what they said were two flights in early June allegedly chartered through Berry Aviation, which is a private aviation company that operates worldwide but is headquartered in San Marcos. Reportedly, the flights took newly arrived asylum seekers to Sacramento, California.

Requests for comment from Berry Aviation to respond to Mano Amiga were not received at time of press. In June, a representative for Berry Aviation told The Sacramento Bee that the flight was 'something that the government ran,' but did not comment further, according to a published story on June 5 by the New York Times.

Mano Amiga Immigration Coordinator Nataly Avendano said it was their understanding that the flights were arranged on behalf of Florida Gov. Ron Desantis.

She said that Mano Amiga has requested that Berry Aviation stop participating in flights of this nature in the future, stating that they had learned that migrants who took these flights were allegedly promised jobs, housing and other benefits prior to boarding the plane. Mano Amiga stated that upon arrival, flight passengers were taken to an area church and left without additional care or supervision.

“We did ask them [Berry Aviation] to apologize for their participation in these flights,” Avendano said. “We didn’t hear back from them.”

She added that due to what she perceived to be a lack of accountability on the airline's part, the group would like the city of San Marcos to end any possible association it may have with Berry Aviation at the SMRA.

“The main goal is to just raise awareness about the way that immigrants are being treated and taken advantage of,” Avendano said, noting that she believes there are better uses of the government's money.

“They should invest in creating resources because immigrants help our community thrive. They offer a lot of helpful skills that make the country a better place.”

Texas Civil Rights Project's Beyond Borders Senior Advocacy Manager Roberto Lopez also attended the protest.

He said the federal government is ignoring the human rights crisis on the border, and recently passed Texas legislation would likely exacerbate these issues.

Lopez said “Senate Bill 11 creates an improper entry offense. We already have that at the federal level. Hundreds of thousands of people have already been criminalized for crossing the river because they can’t access asylum at the bridges.'