Dallas ICE protests: 1 arrested during demonstration

DALLAS - A large anti-ICE protest in Dallas on Monday night ended with only one person arrested.

Dallas ICE protests

The backstory:

Hundreds of demonstrators in Dallas gathered near the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas on Monday night for a protest calling for the end of ICE raids.

The protesters took to the streets in the area holding signs and waving flags while walking toward Dallas' Trinity Groves neighborhood. 

At times the demonstrations were tense, with protesters throwing water bottles, fireworks and rocks at officers.

The protest lasted more than four hours. Many protesters waved flags and raised signs.

No officers were injured.

The protest wound down around 11 p.m. 

Only one protester was arrested, according to Dallas police.

Gerardo Velasquez Jr., 27, was charged with assault of a peace officer and attempting to take a weapon from an officer.

Dallas police say he was seen hitting the window of a fully-marked police squad car with tactical equipment inside.

He then became combative when officers tried to take him into custody, according to police.

Dallas Police Chief on anti-ICE protests

What they're saying:

"We want to keep everyone safe. That's our main goal, to keep every single person in Dallas safe. If you're a protester, we also want to keep you safe. Last night, one individual was arrested. Hopefully, we can go with protests where no one's arrested because all we want to do is keep everyone safe," said Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux.

Hussein Sadruddin, an immigration attorney, spoke on the current climate surrounding the protests.

"The system has been broken for a while," Sadruddin said. "The difference now is that broken system is just geared toward one thing and one thing only, which is mass deportation."

"This is the first time we are seeing individuals who are seeking relief in a legal way being targeted — people who are reporting to court," Sadruddin continued. "Also, we have individuals who have committed minor crimes which would not ordinarily put them into court proceedings, and they’re being detained."

Alison Grinter Allen, a representative of the City of Dallas Community Police Oversight Board, commented on what they've considered in the developing situation.

"How they’re going to be assessing their relationship with federal officers, immigration, our federal partners, and how we’re going to be reacting in the event that any kind of bad-faith actors try to make use of DPD."

Homeland Security posted the following statement to X on Tuesday:

"We will not be deterred by rioters. ICE immigration enforcement will only ramp up. Federal law enforcement is working to protect and safeguard American citizens from criminal illegal aliens."

No Kings Mass Protest

What's next:

Another protest is scheduled in Dallas this weekend.

The "No Kings Mass Protest" is scheduled to be held on Saturday at Dallas City Hall.

Comeaux says the department is prepared and that they will have a presence at the rally.

"If the protests are done legally, we will be there to protect them and make sure that even the protesters are safe along with the community," said Comeaux.

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