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<\/p>\nEvelyn, a mother of three, began her remarks before a crowd of thousands by sharing that her husband, Francisco, was taken by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in December while on his way to work. She said he called her from a gas station while he was filling up to head to work when police approached him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe called to tell me he wouldn\u2019t be home late that day, when suddenly he said, \u2018Wait for me, a police officer is here,’\u201d she said, speaking at an anti-ICE rally in East Austin on Saturday alongside notable Texas Democrats. \u201cThey made up that his car light was out. They stopped him and he hung up.\u201d<\/p>\n
She hasn\u2019t heard from him since. <\/p>\n
Through help from the Mexican Consulate, she learned they took Francisco to a detention center in South Texas. But she couldn\u2019t find out much about him, and he remains detained. <\/p>\n
The 5,000 people listening to Evelyn’s story crowded into Pan American Neighborhood Park, spilling into the parking garage across the street. People held anti-ICE signs that said \u201cAbolish ICE\u201d and \u201cMake America free again.\u201d<\/p>\n
As someone affected by recent ICE operations, she demanded freedom for her husband and others who have been impacted.<\/p>\n
\u201cICE destroyed my family,\u201d she said. \u201cAll my husband was doing that day was getting gas to go to work. My husband is not a criminal. He is a hard-working man, a father and a husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Saturday\u2019s rally comes after a wave of vigils, walkouts and protests in Austin and across the country.<\/p>\n
Lorianne Willett \/ KUT News<\/p>\n
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U.S. Rep. Greg Casar speaks at the anti-ICE rally at Pan American Neighborhood Park.<\/p>\n
Lorianne Willett \/ KUT News<\/p>\n
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The crowd listens as state Rep. James Talarico speaks during the rally.<\/p>\n
Lorianne Willett \/ KUT News<\/p>\n
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A man in a narwhal costume watches the speakers at a rally at Pan American Neighborhood Park.<\/p>\n
Lorianne Willett \/ KUT News<\/p>\n
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People listen from a parking garage as state Rep. James Talarico speaks.<\/p>\n
Lorianne Willett \/ KUT News<\/p>\n
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State Rep. Ram\u00f3n Romero Jr., D-Fort Worth, speaks at the rally.<\/p>\n
Lorianne Willett \/ KUT News<\/p>\n
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State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, speaks to reporters at Pan American Neighborhood Park following a rally against ICE. <\/p>\n
Lorianne Willett \/ KUT News<\/p>\n
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State Rep. James Talarico and state Rep. Gina Hinojosa speak to reporters following the rally.<\/p>\n
Lorianne Willett \/ KUT News<\/p>\n
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Thousands gather at Pan American Neighborhood Park for the protest against ICE. <\/p>\n
Lorianne Willett \/ KUT News<\/p>\n
Lawmakers led the crowd in a number of chants as they spread the message of community and turning out to vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no easy way out of this, folks,\u201d San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro said. \u201cWe are going to have to vote our way out of this in November.\u201d Texans will head to the polls this year to vote for governor, lieutenant governor and other local and state offices.<\/p>\n
The rally offered several opportunities for people to register to vote.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Dawson, who recently moved to Austin from Kansas, registered to vote after the rally. She said this was her way of making her voice heard. \u201cI\u2019ve never been an activist in anything,\u201d Dawson said. “I’ve always been a wallflower and it’s just impossible to deny what\u2019s happening right now. And, if I’m going to be part of anything in history, this is what did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Austin State Rep. James Talarico closed out the rally by saying that now is the time to come together and speak out.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerica needs patriots now more than ever,\u201d he said. \u201cShe needs people who believe in America and she needs people like you who are willing to fight for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Lorianne Willett<\/p>\n
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KUT News<\/p>\n
State Rep. James Talarico, who is running for U.S. Senate, speaks during the rally at Pan American Neighborhood Park on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s rally comes after a wave of vigils, walkouts and protests across the country following the killing of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by U.S. immigration officers in Minnesota.<\/p>\n
This week, Austin nurses held a vigil<\/a> in honor of Pretti, an ICU nurse. Hundreds of students at several local schools staged walkouts and local businesses shuttered in protest of ICE activity<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We are here to demand in one voice an end to Donald Trump’s mass deportation machine,” Austin Congressman Greg Casar said at the rally. “No more ICE terrorizing Minneapolis. No more ICE terrorizing Austin. No more killings like Renee Good or Alex Pretti. No more arresting our veterans and our families and folks going to work. … No more.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n But Democrats are not the only ones calling for a closer look into what happened in Minneapolis. U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, an Austin Republican, was among the first in the Texas GOP to call for an investigation into ICE activity.<\/p>\n McCaul was not available for an interview before the rally, but said on X <\/a>this week that \u201cI believe a thorough investigation is necessary \u2014 both to get to the bottom of these incidents and to maintain Americans\u2019 confidence in our justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle \u201chave a responsibility to turn down the temperature right now.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768759513_139_.png\"\/)
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