Ten undocumented immigrants were detained by police Tuesday following a rally about equal access to education in Charlotte.
Members of the N.C. DREAM Team, an advocacy group for undocumented minors, gathered on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College to rally for equal access to education.
After the event, which drew a crowd of about 40 observers according to school spokesman Jeff Lowrance, activists walked off campus to the intersection of 4th Street and Kings Avenue.
Several members, including seven undocumented immigrants who spoke at the rally, sat in the middle of the street, blocking traffic, Lowrance said.
Police showed up to restore the flow of traffic and handcuffed several of the activists including the seven speakers, he said.
Dani Moore, coordinator of the network of immigrant advocates at the N.C. Justice Center, attended the rally and witnessed the protest in the street.
“The people were cuffed with plastic cuffs and they were taken away in a police van from the spot,” she said.
Moore said she was concerned with some of the actions she witnessed from police.
“I did see some evidence of profiling supporters in the crowd and I’m not sure why they picked some of the people other than the seven that spoke,” Moore said about the people who were taken away by police.
Domenic Powell, one of the founders of the N.C. DREAM Team, said the group is currently reviewing legal observation notes and a video of the protest.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police were unavailable for comment Tuesday.
The DREAM Team released a press release before the rally stating that undocumented youth would be speaking out “against the threats they face at the hands of this Administration and the lack of educational access nationwide.”