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| - In May 2026, a claim (archived) circulated online that Maureen Galindo, a Texas Democratic congressional candidate, proposed turning an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center into a "prison for American Zionists" and use it as a "castration processing center" for pedophiles, who she said "will probably be most of the Zionists."
Examples of the rumor spread on X (archived), Instagram (archived), Bluesky (archived) and Reddit (archived). Snopes readers also searched our site for more information about the accusation.
The official campaign account for Galindo, who is running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas' newly redrawn 35th district, posted (archived) a carousel of images to Instagram on May 13, 2026, one of which featured text that read:
When Maureen gets into Congress, she'll write legislation so that all Zionism and support of Zionism is undoubtedly Anti-Semitic, since it's Zionists harming the Semites. 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).
Because the post appeared on a profile that represents Galindo and amounted to a campaign pledge in her name, we have rated the claim, that she proposed turning an ICE facility into a prison for "American Zionists" that would double as a "castration processing center," as true.
Galindo has objected to the characterization of the plan as an "internment camp," as
I never said I want Jews in internment camps. I said I want to close all ICE detention centers and put billionaire American Zionists [who fund the genocidal prison systems] involved in trafficking into prison. I also want to start a department to target pedophiles for castration.
She added, "I'm against all internment camps and would like to see them all shutdown ASAP."
Internment camps, unlike prisons, are generally built to house one specific group of people. The Nazi's concentration camps for Jews during World War II were a prominent example of internment camps. Prisons, on the other hand, generally house convicted criminals who have had their case heard in a court of law. Galindo specifically used the term "prison," rather than "internment camp," in her post.
Despite heavy backlash after her May 13 post, Galindo posted an Instagram video (archived) on May 19 elaborating on her plan. She claimed she had received death threats after her initial remarks and repeated, "When I say that I want billionaire Zionists in prison that does not mean I want Jews in internment camps."
Galindo elaborated (time code 00:39):
I don't care what religion you are, if you are a Zionist, meaning that you believe that you are just entitled to land, or someone's just entitled to land based off of religious beliefs, and that you'll kill all of the Semites for it then yes, I think that you're a danger to humanity and belong in prison. Especially if you have the political and economic resources to make that happen and that's how we would — that's how we will get all of the billionaire Zionists in prison is through all of the business.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, "Semite" is an obsolete term popularized in the 19th century that has historically been used to describe groups of people who speak Semitic languages, such as Arabic and Hebrew, or who were Jewish, regardless of what language they spoke. It is unclear what group of people Galindo had in mind when she used the term.
The American Jewish Committee, an advocacy organization for the civil and religious rights of Jews, defines "Zionist" as "a person who believes in the development and protection of a Jewish nation in its historic homeland of Israel."
Despite Galindo attempting to clarify that, in her opinion, Zionism is not connected to religion, she faced multiple accusations of antisemitism following her remarks.
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Suzan DelBene, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which works to elect Democrats to House seats, said in a joint statement that Galindo's language amounts to "antisemitic comments" that are "vile," "disqualifying" and have "no place in American politics, and certainly not in the Democratic Party."
Jeffries and DelBene accused "MAGA extremists" of attempting to prop up Galindo's campaign and also appeared to encourage Texans not to vote for her.
Reporting by the Texas Tribune and Punchbowl News, a publication that reports on U.S. politics, suggests Lead Left, a political action committee that reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising for Galindo's campaign, is linked to the Republican funding platform WinRed. Snopes has not independently verified these reports.
Galindo said via email that she had "no clue about the PAC" when asked if she received funding from Lead Left.
Texas Democrats also condemned Galindo's remarks as "antisemitism and hateful rhetoric." James Talarico, the Texas Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, reportedly told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency he would not campaign alongside Galindo should she win her runoff race and instead endorsed Galindo's party opponent Johnny Garcia, according to CNN.
Galindo led the Democratic primaries in Texas' 35th District, winning 29.2% of the vote, compared to Garcia's 27%.
A runoff election on May 26 will determine whether Galindo or Garcia will represent the Democratic Party in Texas' 35th District in the Nov. 3, 2026, midterm elections.
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