According to wire reports, there were protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations across the nation on Monday, drawing thousands of irate citizens demanding an end to the unlawful detentions and deportations.
According to Texas news outlets, protests were reported in Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, McAllen and San Antonio.
The raids, detentions and deportations began almost immediately upon the Trump Administration taking office in January, with a rapid expansion of detention facilities near the border.
“No Human is Illegal”
Protesters carried signs with messages like “Abolish ICE,” and “Families Belong Together,” with signs and chants in both English and Spanish.
Demonstrators gathered at the Texas Capitol in Austin,
According to the Texas Tribune, a largely peaceful march in downtown Austin Monday evening was met with law-enforcement resistance, and protesters dispersed when police fired tear gas into the crowd.
The protest, organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Austin branch, began outside state Capitol grounds at around 7 p.m. as several hundred protesters condemned raids conducted in recent weeks by U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement.
The group guided the mile-long march and chants through downtown toward the J. J. “Jake” Pickle Federal Building before circling back to the Capitol.
While the organizers announced the end of their gathering just after 8 p.m., more than a hundred protesters continued marching as police told them to leave the streets. Some rerouted back to the federal building but were blocked from it by law enforcement, who eventually fired tear gas canisters into the crowd.
Speakers during the protest and those who marched in downtown Austin said ICE and law enforcement were operating without due process for people they have detained in raids. Some, including Valerie Cruz, an Austin resident and first generation American, came to share their solidarity with undocumented immigrants they say have been villainized by law enforcement.
According to a report from the Associated Press on Tuesday morning, the U.S. Marines and additional National Guard troops were headed to Los Angeles, sent by President Trump.
That authorization came amid mostly-peaceful protests in America’s second-largest city on Monday.
The AP also reported that California officials sued Trump to roll back the administration’s National Guard deployment, citing state sovereignty.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and local officials said they didn’t want the military deployed in the city, and the chief of police said it creates logistical challenges for safely handling protests.
The 2,000 Guard members authorized Monday are an addition to the 2,100 the president mobilized for the protests Sunday. Trump has also deployed 700 Marines to help them, which the Pentagon said Tuesday will cost taxpayers $134 million.
Local Protest Slated
Protest group San Angelo Indivisible has organized an event to protest the Trump Administration from noon to 2 p.m. June 14 at Civic League Park, located at 2 S. Park St.
According to organizers, Saturday’s event is part of the No Kings nation-wide mobilization.
The Texas Tribune and Associated Press contributed to this report.
