Controversial Democratic House candidate wants to transform ICE detention center into internment camp for 'American Zionists'

Published: 01:28, 20 May 2026 | Updated: 01:33, 20 May 2026 A controversial Texas Democrat running for a newly re-drawn congressional seat pledged on social media to turn an ICE detention center into an internment camp for 'American Zionists.' Maureen Galindo, 38, has faced backlash for her repeated antisemitic remarks as she faces off against former Bexar County Public Information Officer Johnny Garcia in a Democratic primary runoff election on May 26. But she doubled down on those remarks in an Instagram last week, when she said she would transform the Karnes ICE Detention Center south of San Antonio '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,' Galindo continued. She was quickly slammed for the remarks on social media, with Congressman Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat from Florida, quipping: 'We went faster to concentration camps than I expected.' Elise Stefanik, a congresswoman from New York who serves as the chair of House GOP Leadership, also said she found Galindo's post shocking. 'I am rarely shocked. But this heinous antisemitic statement is truly shocking,' she wrote. 'Every elected Democrat needs to publicly condemn this immediately.'  Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego also said Galindo 'should never be allowed into any political office,' while New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Galindo's post 'absolutely disgusting.' Maureen Galindo, 38, has faced backlash for her repeated antisemitic remarks  She posted on Instagram last week that she would transform an ICE detention center into a prison for 'American Zionists' 'This bigoted garbage and antisemitism should be nowhere near our politics,' she posted on X, as she urged residents of the district to vote for Galindo's opponent. 'And the donors behind the Republican super PAC funding her should be exposed,' AOC said. Galindo, a self-described 'single mom of three,' has received support from Lean Left - a new Florida-based super PAC, with unclear origins that has been linked to Republicans, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. But Galindo came in first in a heated March primary for Texas' 35th district, with 29.2 percent of the vote, while Garcia received 27 percent of the vote. As the two now face off, Galindo, a self-described 'single mom of three,' has accused Garcia of participating in a human trafficking conspiracy orchestrated by billionaire Zionist Jews. Online, she shared a picture of Garcia standing in front of US and Israeli flags, saying he 'took money from Israel to get into Congress and fund Israeli wars.' She even pledged during a recent Texas Public Radio interview to put Garcia on trial for treason.  How should political parties respond when one of their candidates is accused of spreading hate? What's your view? Galindo is pictured out campaigning for office in Somerset, Texas  US congressmen and senators condemned Galindo's post Yet she has claimed she only has issues with Zionists, those who support the idea of a Jewish homeland in Israel, rather than Jewish people in general. She argued that the 'coordinated media attacks declaring my anti-Zionist rhetoric as antisemitic' were 'causing MORE harm to the Jews of San Antonio by playing into all the stigmas that they own the media. 'Zionists WANT us to blame all Jews to shield them from violence they perpetrate on Semites across the Middle East,' she continued in remarks to the JTA. 'I'm not falling for it, and will continue to protect all Jews from their corrupted leaders by constantly reminding folks that it's NOT ALL JEWS. 'We need to be LOUD about our anti-Zionism in these times to protect our neighbors.' At the same time, though, Galindo has repeated antisemitic tropes that Jews control the media. 'I’m against Zionist Jews,' she told Texas Public Radio. 'When I said that the Jews who own Hollywood are doing this, do all Jews own Hollywood? No. The Zionist Jews do. The Zionist Jews own our media, our banks and all of our politicians.' She added, 'There’s plenty of evidence for what I’m saying in the Epstein files.' Galindo is facing off against former Bexar County Public Information Officer Johnny Garcia (pictured) in a Democratic primary runoff election on May 26 The Jewish Federation of San Antonio has said it 'strongly condemns the spread of antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories in public discourse. 'Divisive and hateful rhetoric targeting the Jewish community has no place in our civic life.'  Meanwhile, Democratic Texas State Representative James Talarico said he would not campaign with Galindo even if she were to win the runoff election. 'This antisemitic rhetoric has no place in our politics,' said Talarico, who is running for US Senate. 'We need leadership in both parties willing to stand up and call out hate wherever it rears its ugly head.'  John Lira, who lost to Galindo in the primary, even rescinded his endorsement of her amid her comments.  Two Republicans are also facing off in their own primary later this month for the chance to run in the general election for a newly created Texas Congressional seat. One of the GOP candidates is Carlos De La Cruz, the brother of current Republican US Representative Monica De La Cruz, and the other is John Lujan. Lujan was the top vote-getter in the GOP primary.  The newly drawn district is a competitive seat in the general election, with an R+4 rating per the Cook Political Report's Partisan Voting Index. Texas Republicans passed a new congressional district map in August last year, following a Department of Justice claim that four Democratic-led districts were racially gerrymandered.  The remapped districts could flip as many as five Democratic seats in this year's midterm elections, including Texas's 35th district. The Daily Mail has reached out to Galindo for comment.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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