‘Immigrants are welcome here,’ protesters chant at Arlington ‘No Kings’ rally
A crowd estimated at over 1,000 people lined both sides of Abram Street in front of the Tarrant County Subcourthouse in Arlington on Saturday morning to make their voices heard.
The “No Kings Day” rally wasn’t scheduled to start until 10 a.m., but a respectable crowd had already gathered by 9:30 a.m. Participants waved American flags and handmade signs while chanting “Immigrants are welcome here” and “Justice now!”
The mood at the protest seemed more like a block party than a demonstration, but the participants were dead serious when it came to expressing their concerns for the direction they feel the United States is moving in.
Patti Coggins, a retired Army combat medic, said she showed up at 9 a.m., grabbed a bite to eat at the nearby Shipley Donuts and headed to the courthouse. Her sign showed a crossed out crown and the numbers 8647, slang for throwing President Trump out of office.
Coggins said she’s worried about the wealthy getting tax breaks while things like Social Security are in jeopardy. She’s also concerned about what she sees as a lack of decency in the Trump administration.
“I’m hoping people will come together for our nation or our country before we lose it,” Coggins said.
Jesse Silva, the son of immigrants, said it’s wrong how the Trump administration has characterized immigrants as rapists and criminals.
“Immigrants are what made America,” he said.
Silva said he was hoping for a peaceful protest and said we need to respect each other’s differences.
Carol Rayburn, the president of Progressive Women of Arlington and the organizer for the local protest, said over 1,300 people had registered by Saturday morning, and many more showed up who hadn’t registered. She thinks people are scared because of what’s been happening in Los Angeles, and more chose to attend the protest as a result.
“It’s wonderful,” she said of the turnout.
Around 2,000 “No Kings Day” protests were scheduled across the nation Saturday. Gov. Greg Abbott deployed the Texas National Guard and Department of Public Safety troopers ahead of the protests to “maintain order and defend innocent Texans and property,” he said on X.
Rayburn said some people were concerned about the National Guard showing up at the Arlington protest, but police assured her that neither the National Guard or Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would be there.
In spite of the large crowd, there was a comparatively small police presence. About six Tarrant County Constable vehicles were seen in the courthouse parking lot, and no officers could be seen walking around.
More people kept arriving, and the crowd soon stretched beyond the front of the courthouse from the corner of Mary Street to the corner of Weeks Avenue. A woman passed out water bottles, and volunteers with the Fort Worth chapter of Food Not Bombs ladled out beans and rice.
Sharon Marcus and her husband, Marvin Porter, live in Oak Cliff in Dallas. The couple carried signs that said “Migration is a human right” in English and Spanish. Marcus said she was thrilled by the turnout and the wide range of ages represented at the Arlington rally. She came because she believes it’s wrong that immigrants who’ve lived and worked in the U.S. for several years and have paid their taxes are being deported.
“I would hate to think my neighbors would be detained and deported, because we love them,” she said.
Porter said his reason for coming was simple: “It’s justice,” he said. “Fighting for democracy.” He also wants the immigrant community to know they’re not alone.
Jack Buch and a friend displayed a hybrid U.S./Mexican flag to passing cars. He said they’d come to protest “overreach of government.”
“They told us they were coming for criminals,” he said of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Instead, they are separating families, he said.
Brian Loveland carried a Trump pinata on his back and a half Pride half American flag. “No thrones, no crowns, no kings,” his sign stated. Loveland said the things happening in the U.S. under the Trump administration are “unprecedented,” and the fabric of society is being torn apart. He wonders how the nation got to this point.
“I simply don’t understand,” he said.
Ann M., who asked to be identified by her last initial, told the Star-Telegram that she’s a lifetime Republican voter. Her father was a Vietnam War veteran, and Ann remembers marching down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. in the 1980s to raise awareness for veterans’ benefits. She’s concerned about the future of those benefits now, she said.
Recent government cuts have affected Ann’s family personally. Her brother works for the U.S. National Park Service and has been furloughed. She also questions why immigrants who show up at court because they are following the rules are being deported.
“People don’t know what truth is anymore,” she said.
