El Pasoan residents march to demand respect for border community's dignity and rights
Borderland residents continue to voice their repudiation of the Trump administration's anti-immigrant policies.
The march brought together faith leaders, union representatives from the AFL-CIO and farm workers organizations to defend the dignity of the community amidst attacks from the Trump administration, which has sought to paint the border community as a chaotic place overrun by illegal immigration.
The late morning sun beat down on a hundred or so marchers who joined the protest to reclaim dignity and rights of residents in the Borderland. Those who joined marched from the barrio of Chihuahuita near the Paso del Norte bridge to Parque San Jacinto.
Over a hundred people came out Saturday, May 3, from across the El Pasoan community to reject the Trump administration's attacks on migrants, on health care and against workers. Protesters carried signs defending due process, migrant rights and the rights to education as a group of Matachines danced and other protesters carried giant marionetas.
Saturday's march was organized by the El Paso-based Border Network for Human Rights.
"We are all Americans, whether we are migrants or non-migrants," Fernando García, the executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, said. "Today is the reaffirmation of our human rights, of our civil rights, and also for our dignity as a community at the border."
The number of migrants crossing the southern border with Mexico are at the lowest levels in decades.
More: Federal judge declines to block Trump's immigration enforcement in sacred places
The march comes as the Trump administration has increased his attacks on immigrants, arbitrarily arresting migrants and deporting many without due process. The escalation has generated fear within immigrant communities, but the march is another way of breaking the fear, said Rosemary Rojas with the Border Agricultural Workers Project, who joined the march.
"Right now and every day we have to make our voices heard, we have to be visible," Rojas said. "The dignity that has been stripped and the fear that has been injected is not justice."
More: Mexico moves to outlaw foreign propaganda after US runs anti-migrant ad across border
Saturday's march also raises concerns and rejects the cuts coming to the federal government. The Trump administration's gutting of federal government, including rolling back the Department of Education and the gutting of health and social services, is raising concern for El Paso's elected officials.
"There is a lot of uncertainty right now with funding," El Paso City Rep. Josh Acevedo of District 2 said. "We don't realize that the federal government gives El Paso hundreds of millions of dollars. Public safety is going to be affected by losing money; our public health is going to be affected. We need to make sure that people know. We ring the alarm that this is happening because our quality of life is going to go down because of these cuts."
Saturday's march comes as the Trump administration has increased the presence of the U.S. military into the El Paso community.
The Pentagon extended a border military zone into the El Paso area Friday, May 2. The new militarized zone permits active duty military personnel to arrest migrants who illegally cross the southern border with Mexico.
More: Congressional Democrats demand answers as Trump reverses revoking of student visas
The marchers rejected this militarization and criminalization of the Borderland.
"Our community has been subjected to massive militarization," García said. "Trump just extended the militarization to El Paso. This administration is treating us as criminals. We are members of this society. Both immigrant and non-immigrant are under attack, denying our basic due process, our access to education, and health care."
Jeff Abbott covers the border for The El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@gannett.com; @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Pasoans march to defend rights and dignity amidst militarization
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