A national protest against the Trump administration’s immigration policy drew hundreds of people to Brownsville today. They traveled by the busload to protest outside a federal courthouse, where judges hear cases from people seeking asylum or who have entered the country illegally.
The American Civil Liberties Union organized the rally, along with other groups that have taken a stand against the administration’s immigration policies.
"This is what America looks like!" protesters chanted as they marched.
Rally organizers said around 1,500 protesters made their voices heard on the steps of Brownsville’s federal courthouse. It is where migrants apprehended under the Trump administration’s "zero tolerance" policy have been prosecuted.
"Shut it down! Shut it down! Shut it down!" the protesters shouted on the courthouse steps.
Their rallying cries are against the separation of migrant children and parents.
"Our heart is absolutely broken over that," Ariana Rodriguez, a graduate student at Texas A&M Corpus Christi said.
In the crowd there was a group of Corpus Christi residents who traveled to Brownsville to partake in the rally because they believe the chaos along the border is felt in the Coastal Bend.
"There certainly are many immigrants in our community, people who have family who are immigrants, people who have family who are hoping to seek refuge in our country. So I think in Corpus Christi we might feel that we are somewhat distant from this problem, but we’re really not," said Kathryn Vomero Santos, a member of the Corpus Christi Immigration Coalition.
One professor at TAMU-CC says the Trump administration’s crack down on immigration has impacted his students.
"A lot of our students are very severely impacted by a lot of these policies. A lot of their families are impacted by them. And it affects their learning. It affects their future prospects and ambition. It affects their safety, and so it’s really important for us that they see us here, and know that we’re standing with them," Professor Pater Jurmu said.
The President did sign an executive order last week to end the separation of immigrant families. Families that are split up are also expected to be reunited within a month, due to a federal judge’s ruling this week.
However, protesters are still concerned that family separations happened at all…
"Justicia, justicia!" they chanted.
They are also worried about when kids will see their parents again.
"These are the clothes of my grandchildren," said Dr. Gloria Rodriguez, founder of AVANCE, pointing to a row of small onesies hung on a line. "But they symbolize all children. And they have a right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And due process. And that is exactly what they are not getting."
