SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man hired as a detention officer for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office had the job offer pulled days before starting at the academy because of his wife’s devotion to La Santa Muerte, a federal lawsuit and internal BCSO records obtained by KSAT Investigates shows.
The suit, filed by Luis Borges late last month in federal court in San Antonio, accuses Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar of violating his First Amendment rights.
“The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, and in particular Sheriff Javier Salazar, have a persistent problem with violating the First Amendment of the United States Constitution,” said Borges' attorney, Mark Anthony Sanchez.
Borges, 35, a native of New York who grew up in Puerto Rico, said he attended a BCSO career fair in May and began the application process.
After Borges completed steps, including passing a background check and completing a polygraph examination, he was informed June 3 by a BCSO recruiting deputy that he had been hired and would begin the training academy in two weeks.
“Please consider putting in your 2 weeks' notice if needed,” BCSO Deputy Heather Gonzalez wrote.
Borges, as part of the hiring process, said he then allowed deputies to do an in-home inspection June 4 at the residence he shares with his wife Stephany.
“From my understanding, to verify whomever they are employing, they’re not using a wrong address,” Luis Borges said of the inspection.
He said deputies during the inspection photographed his wife’s personal altar to La Santa Muerte.
On June 15, two days before Borges was scheduled to begin the academy, he received a call from BCSO informing him he had been disqualified from working for the agency.
The following day, a recruiting deputy sent Borges a message that read, “I just called my sergeant, and It (sic) was disapproved apparently by the sheriff for the Santa Muerte. Unfortunately, he has the final decision and it can’t be turned. I’m sorry about that, they honestly didn’t let me know till today so I apologize and wish you the best of luck in everything.”
‘As a child I dreamt about her’
Stephany Borges said her connection to La Santa Muerte goes back decades.
“As a child I dreamt about her,” said Stephany Borges, who told KSAT she devoted herself to the sacred folk saint in an effort to “live more authentically.”
Millions of followers of La Santa Muerte believe she aids them in matters of health, fortune and protection from harm.
The saint’s image, however, has also become synonymous with criminal culture and drug cartels.
“There’s always going to be bad apples in every group. There’s always going to be people who take what is supposed to be good and what is true about whatever you’re worshipping and take it to the extremes. And her image was just something that they took,” Stephany Borges said.
Stephany Borges said BCSO deputies defiled her personal altar by photographing it without her permission.
“These are my clients. Do they look like cartel members?” Sanchez asked.
Sanchez pointed out that the U.S. Supreme Court does not have an index of approved religions.
“The First Amendment provides protection for political thought and for religious thought. A religious belief is one that is simply sincerely held,” Sanchez said.
BCSO officials declined to make Salazar available for an interview for this story, and requested that KSAT instead submit its inquiries to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, which stated it does not comment on personnel matters.
After Luis Borges filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this summer, an assistant district attorney provided an official response in late September.
The response repeatedly refers to Luis Borges as a Roman Catholic, but does not mention Luis Borges' wife or La Santa Muerte.
“At no point did BCSO disqualify Mr. Borges from employment for being Roman Catholic,” the response states.
The DA response also notes that Luis Borges is not eligible to reapply with BCSO.
“They’re not supposed to be judging people on your belief, or your wife’s belief or any family member’s belief,” Luis Borges said.
Sanchez offers Salazar free legal training
Earlier this year, Sanchez secured a $395,000 settlement for former BCSO lieutenant Roxanne Mathai, after she accused the county and Salazar in federal court of violating her rights to free speech.
Mathai, who posted multiple photographs on Facebook showing her near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as a protest erupted into a riot, was terminated months later for rules violations, including conduct unbecoming an officer and failing to report crimes.
After the county settled the case, Sanchez told KSAT that Salazar had no sense or clue about how to respect the First Amendment rights of his employees while they are on their own time.
Sanchez said he is now offering Salazar and his command staff an hour of free legal training on how to comply with the First Amendment.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
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