Amid cold, wet and gloomy weather conditions, hundreds of people gathered Sunday at the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in West Dallas to protest changes to U.S. immigration policy adopted by President Donald Trump last week.
The demonstrators convened at the Trinity Skyline Trail and the intersection of Singleton Boulevard and Beckley Avenue to demonstrate against Trump’s policies. Protesters waved flags from various countries, including Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras, and held signs that said “no human being is illegal on stolen land,” or “immigrants make America great,” or “MELT I.C.E.”
Passing motorists joined the largely peaceful protest by continuously honking their vehicle’s horns to show support.
Known locally as “El movimiento”, demonstrators aimed to send a message to Washington about the immigration actions that have unfolded following Trump’s return to the White House.
“El movimiento” stands for the Mexican civil rights movement for social justice, protest organizers told The Dallas Morning News on Friday.
Shortly after being sworn into office, Trump signed a series of executive orders indicating a shift in policy, one of which involves the implementation of mass deportations nationwide.
These measures have affected undocumented individuals and their families across the nation, according to social media posts and several media outlets.
Isabel Velasquez, 34, of Arlington, said her 16-year-old daughter, Joselin Ibarra, and her friend, Ximena Bassilo, were two of the people who organized the Dallas protest.
“I’m very proud of the girls,” Velasquez said. “They’re representing the voices that cannot speak.”
Velasquez added that she hopes Trump will reverse the changes to the immigration policy because what he’s actually doing is “hurting minors.”
Two other protests were scheduled for Sunday afternoon, including one at Trinity Park in Fort Worth and the other at the Texas state Capitol in Austin.
The protests were authorized by Dallas and Fort Worth city officials, organizers said. Police departments in both cities were aware of the events, organizers said.
Hadia Noor, 23, of Dallas, said she was protesting Sunday afternoon because “she cares about her neighbors” and her family.
“It’s really important to me to make sure that we’re all helping each other,” she said. “I think as human beings, it’s our job to protect each other, because sometimes people fall short and they can’t help themselves as much as they want to.”
Noor, who grew up around Mexican immigrants and whose parents are immigrants from Pakistan, said Trump’s actions are “not representative” of the majority of American people.
“I believe his actions are not those that will help and encourage the people to be better [or] encourage a better economy, encourage better education, encourage better safety,” Noor said. “I think those are the most important things — education and safety — especially for children, and the fact that they are targeting schools, I think, is inhumane.”
The Dallas Morning News reporter Salette Ontiveros contributed to this report.
