After a woman threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Latina food vendors operating a taco truck, the Dallas chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) decided to respond to hate with a party. The event, titled Mariachi & Tacos Party for Taco Truck Tammy, took place on Sunday near the home of the woman who has been identified as Valerie.
At the event, Reverend Peter Jackson spoke at the request of the performers. “I am here simply to pray for [Taco Tammy]. I’m concerned about her capacity to hate people she ain’t never met. And I’m also concerned about the fact that she don’t love tacos like I love tacos. On this glorious Sunday that God has given us, we’ll open up Taco Tammy’s eyes but we’ll also say to the nation, ‘We welcome everybody, all of God’s children.’”
During the initial reaction, the Latinas operating the food truck told Valerie that they had a permit to sell food, but she repeatedly told them to leave her neighborhood. Eventually, she said she would call ICE on them, despite the fact that she didn’t know their immigration status. The interaction was caught on film and made the rounds on social media, where Valerie earned herself the “Taco Tammy” and “Taco Truck Tammy” monikers.