8 June 18 - 24, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Series of Shenanigans Lawsuits and quorum breaks not enough to stop City Hall vote. BY EMMA RUBY I t was after a lawsuit and two attempts at breaking the City Council’s quorum on June 10 that Council member Adam Bazaldua finally conceded, “I know I’m going to take an L today.” Bazaldua, one of six council members staunchly opposed to plans to move Dallas’ municipal government out of the I.M. Pei-designed building on Marilla Street, had tried everything in the lead-up to that night’s vote. The item that passed despite his efforts rejects a proposal to fund repairs to the facil- ity, which needs a billion-dollar facelift. Three members of the coalition, Bazaldua, Paula Blackmon and Cara Men- delsohn, filed a lawsuit on June 8, alleging that city leaders hadn’t been properly trans- parent with the public. Mendelsohn ulti- mately removed her name from the petition, but a judge ruled in the council members’ fa- vor and blocked the matter from being dis- cussed or voted on at the horseshoe. During the June 10 meeting, quorum, the number of council members required to run affairs, was at times tenuous, and the group left the chamber to force a pause on pro- ceedings. When it became apparent that nothing would stop the vote from going through, the minority pleaded with the horseshoe to pass amendments on amend- ments, none of which were successful. “I think it’s pretty clear where there are nine in support of what is going to be done,” Bazaldua said after offering an amendment that would require the city manager to brief the council on the environmental impacts should City Hall be demolished. “[More in- formation] is all that I’m asking for.” The meeting agenda was intended to be two-fold. In one vote, council members would discuss plans to repair the building and decide yay or nay. In the next, they’d di- rect the city manager to pursue the real es- tate deals needed to move. While a judge blocked the vote on the latter half, the coun- cil members who likely would have voted in favor of redevelopment (and who voted against the repairs) found a workaround. The group moved to direct the city man- ager to explore options for the sale of City Hall and costs associated with leasing or purchasing a new space, and to bring those options back to the council by Aug. 26. “[The motion] is intended to do what many speakers … have asked for, which is to get us a full picture of the numbers, includ- ing the leasing options,” said council mem- ber Chad West, who introduced the plan. He said that directing the city manager to fur- ther pursue redevelopment will be the only way to “have a true side-by-side compari- son” of the costs of staying versus leaving. It is clear that the meeting was a die cast against the building. But it was also one of the first times we’ve been able to see exactly where each official stands. While it has al- ways appeared to be a nine-to-six split, City Council can be like “Survivor.” You can talk about alliance loyalty, but until the votes are cast, lines drawn in the sand can easily be washed away. The June 10 session showed that, as it stands, the “Save City Hall” group of council members could hope to pick up at most one more vote. On two occasions, Jaime Resen- dez broke ranks and voted alongside the staunch six in favor of amendments that would require environmental impact sur- veys. When the possibility of those studies failed, he returned to the majority vote. Some Council members said that the numbers briefed during the repair plan were total nonstarters. In one proposal, voters would be asked to approve $770 million in debt for the project; in the non-bond issu- ance plan, four out of every 10 non-uni- formed city positions would have to be eliminated, while all departments would face a 20% funding reduction. But other council members continued what has become a common refrain in this issue: They didn’t believe the numbers. Council member Paul Ridley criticized the plan for “exaggerating” costs by introducing “replacements, not repairs.” “My first six years on council, this wasn’t briefed, not even once, and suddenly it’s a cri- sis,” said Cara Mendelsohn. ▼ IMMIGRATION ICE AIR FAITH LEADERS, ACTIVISTS CALL ON DALLAS OFFICIALS TO STOP LOVE FIELD DEPORTATIONS. BY AUSTIN WOOD A ctivists and faith leaders demanded that a Plano-based company at Love Field Airport end cooperation with federal immigration enforcement last week. Members of the Clergy League for Emer- gency Action and Response (DFW CLEAR), El Movimiento and Democratic Socialists of America hosted a press conference at the Cathedral of Hope near Love Field to de- nounce reported ICE activity there. They called for Atlantic Aviation to end its rela- tionship with ICE-affiliated carriers and ap- pealed to Dallas officials to intervene. Atlantic Aviation maintains a facility at Love Field as a fixed-base operator. Compa- nies like Atlantic provide refueling, hangar space and other logistical support for char- ter flights. At Love Field, activists say the company’s hangar is being used to support detainee and deportation flights by DHS-contracted carriers. “As people arrive for the World Cup and other major events, we will proudly showcase our city as a place of hospitality and opportu- nity,” the Rev. Neil Thomas, lead pastor of Ca- thedral of Hope, said. “Yet, at the very same time, through these very same airports, on these very same streets, within sight of cele- brations, immigrant members of our commu- nity are being removed from their homes and families. This contradiction forces us to ask difficult but necessary questions about who we are as a city.” Organizers said they have tracked 126 flights related to ICE activity at Love Field this year using tail numbers and flight-track- ing software, although those numbers have yet to be independently verified. Social media posts from activists appear to show groups of shackled individuals being taken from buses and loaded onto planes bearing markings of carriers like Eastern Airlines, which is owned by CSI Aviation, the main operator of DHS-contracted flights in the U.S. “It’s completely unacceptable that Love Field and the Plano headquarters of Atlantic Aviation are colluding with ICE to harm their own neighbors here in Texas,” John Putnam, one of the El Movimiento organiz- ers involved in tracking activity at Atlantic’s hangar, said. Latin America-bound flights operated by GlobalX, another charter airliner owned by CSI that The New York Times has described as “ICE’s go-to charter airline for deporta- tions,” have also been reported by organizers. In a statement to the Observer, a city spokesperson for Love Field said that immi- gration enforcement flights are taking place “at major airports across the country.” “Like these other airports, Dallas Love Field does not manage or oversee federal immigration enforcement operations, nor does the airport have authority over federal decisions regarding the movement of indi- viduals in federal custody,” the statement reads. “The airport remains committed to operating in a safe and lawful manner while serving the region’s transportation needs.” Putnam responded to that statement and called for action by the city. “It is unacceptable to prioritize working with federal agencies who may be commit- ting or acting legally over protecting their citizens,” he said. “So, if, as you say, quote, ‘the airport remains committed to operating in a safe and lawful manner,’ then you should be investigating to make sure that ev- ery single person ICE Air transports on city property does not have a valid asylum plan, habeas corpus claim, visa, greeting card or even citizenship.” He pointed to re- ports of individuals claiming U.S. citi- zenship being de- ported as especially concerning. He also said that while ICE has used Love Field under previous administrations, the increased en- forcement volume and subsequent flights under President Donald Trump make the is- sue hard to ignore. Organizations like Human Rights First have tracked flight patterns involving immi- gration enforcement leading up to and during Trump’s second term. Through April 2026, there have been 7,110 flights within or out of the U.S. involving immigration en- forcement, according to the organization’s last available monthly report. Human Rights First logged 4,980 of those as domes- tic flights carrying ICE detainees between detention centers, with the remaining 2,130 related to or explicitly for deportations. Love Field is one of the major airports listed as a venue for the flights. Through April 2021, in the first year of the Biden administration, 1,523 flights were reported. Lanie Olmo, an organizer with the Dem- ocratic Socialists of America, said that the domestic flights often arrive from process- ing centers in areas like El Paso before de- tainees from the Dallas ICE field office are boarded onto the planes. Domestic flights commonly depart for major ICE hubs like Alexandria, Louisiana, she said. “These domestic shuttle flights move de- tained people between detention facilities across the country, from a county jail in | UNFAIR PARK | IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS WARNED THAT “SHUFFLE” FLIGHTS MAY BE USED TO PUNISH PRISONERS. Lauren Drewes Daniels Prospects for the future of the I.M. Pei-designed Dallas City Hall look dimmer as a council majority rejected funding overdue repairs and maintenance.
