People crowd around a stage, sweating in the 98-degree Texas heat. Carlos Quintanilla, an Un Día Sin Trump activist, calls to the crowd, “Nosotros vamos a votar!” Or, “We are going to vote!”
Un Día Sin Trump, a group founded by the Latino Votes Project, held an anti-Trump rally Monday afternoon at Dallas City Hall. The group’s name in English means “A Day Without Trump” – a play on words based on the film “A Day Without a Mexican.”
Almost 900 people accepted the event’s Facebook invitation.
Francis Ollivera attended to show support for the Latino community.
“We’re making a statement that hate isn’t going to get it done,” Ollivera said. “Putting everyone in a bundle doesn’t solve anything. He’s using them as a scapegoat.”
Donald Trump has made headlines for his inflammatory statements about Latinos and Mexican immigration. The most infamous was during his presidential announcement speech on June 16.
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” Trump said. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Un Día Sin Trump held its rally Monday to combat the announcement of a Trump campaign event to be held in Dallas Sept. 14.
Quintanilla told the crowd that they would bring Trump the “three r’s.”
“Repudiate, reject, repugnant,” he said. “We repudiate, we reject and he’s repugnant!”
The group also plans to protest outside Trump’s campaign event next week.
Trump is currently the Republican front-runner, leading the primary race by an average of 27.8 percent, according to Real Clear Politics.
Becky Arredondo attended the anti-Trump rally to gain more support for the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton.
“I’m hoping to get more people registered to vote,” Arrendondo said. “Latinos don’t get very involved. We need to stand up and have candidates respect us.”
Historically, Latino voter turnout has been relatively low in the U.S. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 39 percent of the Texas Latino population voted in the 2012 election. Meanwhile, 61 percent of the white population voted.
Getting out the vote was a main theme of Monday’s political rally. Several speakers encouraged participants to vote against Trump.
.@DianaReyesMusic says she’s not a citizen yet but asks ppl who are to also vote #undiasintrump #dallas pic.twitter.com/FkW6wBO1cC
— Karina Ramirez (@KarinaFRamirez) September 7, 2015
“We’re going to fight you,” Quintanilla said. “Donald Trump, we’re here we’re not going anywhere. We’re here to fight.”
Carlos Quintanilla w/ @accionamerica sends msg to @realDonaldTrump: “we will vote” #dallas #undiasintrump pic.twitter.com/qKWnAKjNvm
— Karina Ramirez (@KarinaFRamirez) September 7, 2015
