By Maureen Galindo, the Democratic candidate who received the most votes in the first round of Texas’ 35th Congressional District primary, is facing mounting criticism after saying she would convert a migrant detention facility south of San Antonio into an internment site for “American Zionists” and former immigration officers.
Maureen Galindo, a Democrat running for Congress in TX-35, says in an Instagram post that she would turn an ICE detention center near San Antonio “into a prison for American Zionists”, and will also use it as a castration processing center for pedophiles, “which will probably be… pic.twitter.com/d5Xmb2uk9n
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 19, 2026
Galindo finished first in the March primary with 29.2 percent of the vote, ahead of former Bexar County Public Information Officer Johnny Garcia, who received 27.02 percent. Because no candidate won a majority, the two advanced to the May 26 Democratic runoff.
The controversy intensified after Galindo posted on Instagram over the weekend: “She’ll turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking. It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists.”
The remarks come amid broader scrutiny of antisemitic rhetoric inside Democratic politics, particularly on the party’s left flank. In Pennsylvania, state Rep. Chris Rabb won the Democratic nomination Tuesday for the deep-blue 3rd Congressional District after a campaign centered heavily on opposition to Israel and AIPAC. Rabb had previously disavowed an Instagram post from his campaign account suggesting the Bondi Beach attack on Jews was a false flag by “Zionists,” saying it had been shared by a former staffer.
Chris Rabb posted that the December ISIS-attack on a Bondi Beach Chanukah event which killed 15 people (including a Holocaust survivor and ten-old refugee from Ukraine) was actually a Jewish conspiracy. https://t.co/w6cjwbJBFG https://t.co/ov3H5EwT3a pic.twitter.com/nebvawQy7I
— Benjamin Fogel (@BA__Fogel) May 20, 2026
The Democratic National Committee was happy to welcome Rabb into the fold. In response to Rabbs’ victory, DNC Chair Ken Martin said:
“Chris Rabb is an accomplished, five-term state representative who has delivered real results for northwest Philadelphia — and now he’s ready to fight for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District in Congress. Rabb will fight back against Trump’s cruel and corrupt policies that are raising costs on working families. From now until Election Day, the DNC is ready to help organize and mobilize voters to elect a fighter for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District.”
Galindo’s own comments have drawn a sharper backlash because they go beyond criticism of Israeli policy and invoke conspiracy claims about Jewish Zionists controlling powerful institutions. She has accused Garcia of involvement in a human trafficking conspiracy allegedly run by billionaire Zionist Jews and vowed during a Texas Public Radio interview to put him on trial for treason.
Galindo has also repeatedly claimed that Jewish Zionists exert control over Hollywood, the media, and local politicians. In interviews, however, she has insisted that her criticism is directed at Zionism—the support for a Jewish state in Israel—rather than Jewish people.
“I think it’s actually the zionists who are putting Jewish people at the most risk,” Galindo told the Current last week.
The San Antonio Jewish Federation rejected that distinction in a statement, warning that such language echoes longstanding antisemitic tropes.
“The JFSA strongly condemns the spread of antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories in public discourse,” the group said. “Divisive and hateful rhetoric targeting the Jewish community has no place in our civic life.”
Early voting in the runoff continues through Friday, May 22. Election Day is Tuesday, May 26.
[Read More: NAACP Tries To Kill College Football In The South]
