About 2,000 demonstrators filled Dallas City Hall Plaza and downtown streets Sunday afternoon to protest immigration and deportation actions taken by the Trump administration.
Local teenagers Joselin Ibarra and Ximena Bassilo helped organized the City Hall group, while Next Generation Action Network (NGAN) organized another at Harwood Park.
The group organized the protest to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that separate families while searching for immigrants accused of breaking local or federal laws.
Both community activist groups occasionally mixed while marching through the AT&T Discovery District and from the West End to Deep Ellum.
Muslim women wearing niqabs and hijabs, Honduras flag-flyers and adults and children wearing clothes representing Mexico and the United States chanted and walked on Commerce Street in rows of about 10 to 12 people, past the original Neiman Marcus and The Dallas Morning News.
Dominique Alexander of NGAN, from a stage at Harwood and Jackson streets, encouraged unity among disenfranchised communities and criticized President Donald Trump before he and other protesters began marching again eastward.
Local Brown Berets and men who identified themselves as citizen journalists who attend protests nationwide shouted and cursed at each other while surrounded by Dallas Police officers.
“What's your problem? I'm just standing here,” one man from the out-of-town group said.
Later, he declined to give his name.
“We're going to deport billions of illegals,” he said. “Donald Trump is making America great again. Let's put America first for once. I'm tired of my taxpayer dollars going to illegal aliens and organizations.”
A woman with the Dallas area Brown Berets who identified herself as Esperanza covered her mouth and nose with a red kerchief.
“A lot of times because we have retaliation from police officers, especially,” she said. “We have Dallas PD that watches us. I got harassed coming up here, just parking my car, and the officer pulled me over and lit me up and then had no reason to do it and then went on his merry little way. Because of that, we like to protect our identity when we're here so that we can be out there more often doing things for the people and not be stopped.”
Dallas Police did not say whether any disruptions related to the protests led to arrests Sunday.
Got a tip? Email Marina Trahan Martinez at mmartinez@kera.org. You can follow Marina at @HisGirlHildy.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
