Demonstrators face off over child immigrants
Rallies in Arizona show divide and emotions on immigration
ORACLE, Ariz. – Protesters carrying “Return to Sender” and “Go home non-Yankees” signs faced off with immigrant rights activists Tuesday in a small Arizona town after a sheriff said a bus filled with Central American children was on its way.
The rallies demonstrated the deep divide of the immigration debate as groups on both sides – and in similar numbers – showed up in Oracle to speak out on the issue.
It turned heated at times, with shouting matches and a group of mariachi musicians getting shoved before the skirmishes were quelled. At one point, protesters blocked a bus on the road before realizing it was just a school bus carrying children from a YMCA.
The protests came as the government released new numbers that show how many immigrant families and children have been pouring into the country in recent months. The Border Patrol says 55,420 family members have been caught at the border from October through the end of June, a nearly 500 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. The number includes adults apprehended with their young children, and most of them were caught in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. In addition, the Border Patrol says 57,525 unaccompanied children have been apprehended through the end of June.
Anger has been spreading in the town of Oracle since Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu warned residents last week that immigrant children from Central America caught crossing the border illegally would be placed at the Sycamore Canyon Academy in Oracle. Protesters were hoping to mirror demonstrations in Murrieta, California, when immigrants were taken there recently.
“We are not going to tolerate illegals forced upon us,” protester Loren Woods said.
Babeu is credited with stirring up the anti-immigrant protesters via social media postings and a press release Monday and by leaking information about the migrants’ arrival to a local activist.
Babeu said he was simply informing the public and was at the site to make sure the protests on both sides were peaceful.