Demonstrators protest Trump’s ‘dystopian’ immigration policies, promise to fight back
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Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last month, America hasn’t felt the same to Antonio Hernandez.
“I cannot believe it,” he said. “It feels very dystopian.”
Hernandez, a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, joined the ranks of demonstrators in Minneapolis on Saturday to protest President Trump's immigration policies.
Trump, on entering office last month, signed scores of executive orders reversing Biden-era policies and reinstituting plans he set in place during his first term. At least 20 executive orders are aimed at blocking immigration, including directives to stop refugee arrivals, redefine who can become a U.S. citizen at birth, continue building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and bolstering the ranks of federal immigration officers.
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Supporters rallied on Minneapolis’ East Lake Street — a vibrant corridor of Mexican, Somali and other immigrant-owned businesses — packing the area on a grey and cold winter afternoon. They carried signs reading “All are welcome here” and “Immigrants Make America Great.”
Silviano Yadho marched with a group of artists from Mexico carrying alebrijes, brightly colored sculptures depicting spiritual creatures in a Mexican folk art tradition. He said the art form is part of their culture and how they express their feelings. Now they’re using their art in protest.
“We try to be the voice for all the people that maybe are here, maybe are in other countries,” said Yadho. “Just to show that our people is fighting back.”
Yadho said he moved to the U.S. from Mexico in search of a better life about 30 years ago. He said most immigrants are like him: looking for a chance to make a better life.
Josefa Gaona walked with him wrapped in a large alebrije shaped like an elephant with cats’ eyes, butterfly ears and an armadillo’s body. She works as a family advocate in a south metro school district. Since Trump’s election, she said some 2nd grade students have told her they’re afraid of being separated from parents.
“One child was very worried,” Gaona said. “He doesn’t look happy. He doesn’t want to talk much about it. But when he did, he said, ‘What should we do?’”
Gaona said coming to the U.S. legally is difficult. She petitioned for her sister in Mexico to get U.S. residency status in 2001. Twenty-four years later, her sister is still waiting.
Maple Grove resident Teddie Morales said some of her relatives were deported to Mexico about five years ago and their families have been separated since. “As my sign says: No human is illegal on stolen ground. We’re here to fight for our rights,” she said.
Morales said Minnesota seems a safe place for residents, but people are on alert “because you never know what could happen.”
While “sanctuary cities” like Minneapolis and St. Paul limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and have ordinances in place to prioritize local trust and safety, sanctuary cities have also been targeted by Trump. In January, the president signed an executive order denying federal funding to sanctuary cities and directing his administration to pursue action “to the maximum extent possible under the law.”
The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee organized the protest. “We want to show that we are in solidarity with our immigrant community … and tell Trump that we’re not going anywhere,” said Latifah Moss, a MIRAC spokesperson.
Moss said people now know what Trump is capable of and are more prepared to act.
She said MIRAC has ramped up its activism since Trump’s inauguration, offering more “Know Your Rights” trainings aimed at supporting immigrant communities and their neighbors.