When recently asked about his support for Latino rights, the mayor of East Haven, Connecticut said that he “might have some tacos” for dinner. Little did he know, a local group of activists would be happy to take him up on that.

Days later, 500 tacos showed up at Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr.’s office, courtesy of local activists with The Campaign to Reform Immigration for America. Sadly, he wasn’t there to receive them.

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“When we delivered the tacos to [the] Mayor, he ran out the back door to avoid us,” the activists wrote on their blog, citing a report in local media. He allegedly had an important meeting to attend.

Unfortunately for Maturo, the taco onslaught has only just begun: activists have pledged to send one more for each person who texts the word “taco” to 69866.

Within about 24 hours of announcing their plan, the group said they received over 3,500 texts. MSNBC noted that by Thursday, over 2,000 tacos had been delivered.

The whole fracas began agents when the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested four East Haven police officers for assaulting and inventing charges against undocumented immigrants. The mayor was confronted by a reporter who noted that there were no Latinos on the town’s police force, and asked what Maturo would do about it.

Local activists have since launched a petition to have the mayor fire Leon Gallo, his police chief, and replace him with someone who will ensure the laws are enforced without discrimination.

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While the group said they were disappointed that the mayor was not present to receive his tacos, they left one for him and donated the rest to feed the homeless.

The video below is from CNN, broadcast Jan. 26, 2012.