It didn’t take long before a missive sent to the members of the Walnut Hill Homeowners’ Association surfaced beyond the boundaries of the neighborhood. The note, which was shared around social media in a screenshot, said that representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Dallas Police Department would be holding a neighborhood meeting at the Walnut Hill Recreation Center to “discuss upcoming activities and plans related to enhanced immigration enforcement efforts in our area.” The meeting was scheduled for Thursday afternoon, but has since been canceled, reportedly due to the weather.
The phrasing alarmed several advocates, including the clergy in the newly formed CLEAR DFW group, who received the screenshot from a neighbor in the area. With the reports of violence (including two shootings of unarmed observers) in Minneapolis and an increasing bipartisan concern over the tactics used by DHS, ICE, and Border Patrol, “plans related to enhanced immigration enforcement efforts in our area” sounded like a threat.
We reached out to DPD, several members of the WHHA leadership, and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Gay Donnell Willis, whose district includes the Walnut Hill neighborhood. Willis had already been looking into it…