The people protesting against immigrant children being housed in the Oracle area was 4 miles down the road. I spent 3 hours as part of the bienvenidos group welcoming the children to stay and be cared for until the next step of their journey. The buses didn’t show, so the day ended as a standoff.
Paul Ingram of the Tucson Sentinel spent time with both groups. By his count, there were about 75 protesters and 50 welcomers. My estimate of our group was closer to 75, but I imagine Ingram’s estimates are consistent for both groups, so let’s use his numbers.
The protest group was fueled by anger and xenophobia. Its anti-immigrant fires were stoked by Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu’s rhetoric, and they had since Thursday to rally their troops. The welcomers began organizing the afternoon before when people got wind of the planned protest. I didn’t learn the details, when and where our demonstration would be held, until 9pm the night before. Even with their anger at the children and a three day head start, they could only come up with a few more bodies than the group brought together at the last minute hoping to counter the protesters’ hate and welcome the children.
Our group had a mariachi band drive out to Oracle to play for us. Rumor has it the protesters had Porta Potties. I’ll leave it to readers to decide the relative value of the perks for both groups.
Speaking-Of-Rumors Note: The only reason the anti-immigrant protest happened and the welcomers turned out as a counter demonstration was because Sheriff Babeu told people he heard the children were coming to the Sycamore Canyon Academy outside of Oracle. He hasn’t revealed his source. The question is, did he have a genuine tip the children were coming, or did he create the event out of whole cloth to give himself a little earned media?
More photos below.
This article appears in Jul 10-16, 2014.
This was a publicity stunt for Sheriff Bobo.
Stick a fork in it; true journalism is dead.
Judging by your photos, it seems like it was an “opportunity for earned media” (a.k.a. ‘a publicity stunt’) for both sides.
What part of ILLEGAL is difficult to understand? Spend $3.7 B proposed by Obama on needy U.S. children and needy U.S. citizens in general.
I think only you, Fraser, are naive and stupid…for a white man.
Hey Danny, how much of your salary (presuming you’re not on public subsistance) would you like to contribute to the illegal’s medical, meals, eductation, health care, and housing?
What a bunch of crap, no wonder the country is in a world of hurt.
! Notice the biased reporting shows the Mariachis in a simple setting playing. Not where they purposefully drove through a crowd of protestors (let me explain) the protestors parted like the Red Sea thing so they could drive down the road past where the Protestors were. Then they decided to pull a typical racist, in your face protest by gathering and now pushing their way through protestors who were singing America the Beautiful and saying the Pledge of allegiance, while playing their instruments. It would be wrong for the other group to do that, too! Why doesn’t someone with an ounce of brains tell them that is not responsible, UNLESS you are wanting to START a FIGHT! Next time maybe you ought to have an intelligent correspondent that can count beyond 100.
Regarding the Sheriff, he requested information from the Fed Gov and because this administration doesn’t like him, they did not respond to either verbal or written requests to clarify some issues regarding checking for Physical illnesses and determining whether anyone was a gang member. Your version of reality is an embarrassment to adult journalism!
To the jerk that said that Shrf. Babeu made it up. be advised that even the traitor Raul Grijalva, aka the La Raza Retard, confirmed that they had to turn the buses around due to the protest. So run tell that idiot!!!
PMRB, that word would be assistance. Not subsistence. Get your education at a charter school, did you? But no, I am a retired fireman, 30 years, thank you. What in god’s name do you do, mr. PMRB.
Didn’t the Sheriff once have a rent boy who was in the country illegally?
My great-grandfather came here from Europe on a boat with a dream in his heart that there will be no immigrants of any sort in the new land.
Sheriff Studboi will get more money for his PAC from frightened and angry people. THAT’S what this was all about.
Good question pmrb: What part of ILLEGAL is difficult to understand?
U.S. law requires this: unaccompanied children from other than Canada and Mexico who are here now are to be cared for and provide with due process.
So, what part of following the RULE OF LAW do you not understand?
“The protest group was fueled by anger and xenophobia. It’s anti-immigrant fires were stoked by Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu’s rhetoric….”
This statement is most certainly true. I would have added, and false statements.
And it is most certainly true that Babeu’s appearance and resulting pictures in the press throughout Arizona and the nation leads one to question his motives. The Arizona Republic wrote this morning, “Sheriff Showboat has disgraced the office,” 7/16. Even Tim S. at the ADS agreed with David Safier’s assertion that Babeu “stoked” the anti-immigrant sentiments and wrote that Babeu “provoked” what I refer to as members of the modern day Know-Nothing party who were there protesting children.
I think that the members of the mariachi ban were the true media whores.
Compassion is dead in the hearts of people who protest children, no matter where they come from, or where they are going. And, the world is watching. History will not be kind to us, nor should it be, under these and many other sad circumstances we’ve witnessed in this so-called state. Sickened.
I was there yesterday, in Oracle. I was with the welcoming group. Sheriff Underpants did start this in my opinion for a publicity stunt & to raise money from the bigots. I wanted to welcome frightened kids & Mom’s & let them know that most of us want to show compassion & feel very bad about their circumstances. The mariachis were welcomed in our group & were going to try & spread peace through music. Unfortunately they weren’t welcomed by the haters. Too bad. I feel so sad about the fear & hatred too many feel.
Shurf Showboat and his merry band of xenophobes have once again made Arizona a national laughingstock with their hateful screeching at a bus load of school children from the faraway land of Marana. Way to go, nitwits- you make us all proud.
Just ask yourself WWJD?
Who would Jesus deport?
Yes pmrb, What part of ILLEGAL is difficult to understand? These children are being legally housed and processed in accordance with standing federal law to determine their immigration status and country of origin before the majority of them are deported. Why do you advocate breaking the law?
“Spend $3.7 B proposed by Obama on needy U.S. children and needy U.S. citizens in general”
Great idea! Lets spend some money on our poor as well- if we end the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on corporate welfare and the trillions of dollars spent on endless war we’d have plenty of money to do both. But to you heartless fools, the only choice is to either screw over our poor, or someone else’s poor, no other options ever seem to penetrate those tiny brains.
The trouble is though, the same screeching morons protesting those poor immigrant kids are the very same ones who time after time whine and snivel about spending any money on our own kids. They fling their feces with abandon at anyone proposing to help the poor and disadvantaged in America, but suddenly IT’S A MIRACLE! They conveniently claim to care about the very people they crap all over day in, day out the moment it becomes a useful way of rationalizing their hatred and xenophobia for a different group of people. Who are you trying to kid? if that 3.7 billion isn’t spent on fixing this humanitarian crisis you clowns will be right back to incoherently protesting it being spent on anything else- all the while screaming about the deficit and Benghazi!! and whatever other stupidity oozes out of your AM radio and into your empty heads.
Regarding what Jesus would do: I believe that, according to The Gospel According to Luke, when asked about the children, Jesus said something close to, Let the children come.