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LULAC and Dallas leaders urge peaceful protest, warn against 'militarization'
Summary
Leaders from LULAC, city council and community groups in Dallas held a press conference urging peaceful, nonviolent protests and criticizing the deployment of large numbers of troops to recent protest sites; speakers stressed safety, youth engagement and collaboration with law enforcement.
DALLAS — Leaders from LULAC, local advocacy groups and city officials urged residents to protest peacefully and warned against what they described as unnecessary militarization after recent raids and deployments.
Diana Flores, who opened the news conference, asked those speaking to present "a strong picture of unity," urged demonstrators not to respond to provocation and said, "We do not want Dallas to be militarized." Council Member Jaime Resendiz (District 5) said, "The right to peaceful protest is one of the most fundamental freedoms we have in this country," and called on participants to exercise that right responsibly.
Roman Palomares, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), described recent field visits to Omaha and Los Angeles after immigration raids and criticized officials' responses as "theatrics" and efforts at "intimidation." He said some high-profile deployments were unnecessary and urged protesters to remain peaceful so their message would not be undermined.
Speakers from a range of groups — including the National Latino Law Enforcement Organization, the Association of Latino Professionals in America (Alpha Dallas chapter), Hey Chica, the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association — repeated calls for nonviolence and cooperation with police. Juan Hernandez Jr., representing the National Latino Law Enforcement Organization, said law enforcement wants to "protect the people that protest" and other citizens while urging protesters to stay off streets for safety.
Young organizers and students emphasized civic engagement and voting as longer-term solutions. An unidentified student leader from the University of North Texas at Dallas, serving as student government vice president, said, "Our actions shall remain civil, peaceful, and nonviolent," and urged peers to avoid tactics that could be used to discredit their causes.
Speakers repeatedly referenced recent raids in midwestern and coastal cities and the use of large troop deployments. Organizers criticized those deployments as intimidation; the conference included multiple references to a reported mobilization of roughly 7,000 National Guard troops in some areas and to statements by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, which speakers said amounted to a move toward militarization of civic life. Conference remarks accused authorities of separating families and traumatizing communities but did not include formal legal findings or agency statements contradicting those descriptions.
The news conference closed with Flores warning attendees about the potential presence of agitators who might try to provoke violence and asking participants to report incidents and allow law enforcement to respond; she then invited reporters to speak with the presenters and ended the event.
