Dozens gather for ‘Rally against Fear’ on U.S./Mexico border
Dozens took to the border near Chihuahuita to rally for immigrants’ rights.
It was organized by the Border Network For Human Rights (BNHR), along with the Caravan Against Fear, an immigrant advocacy group based out of Northern California.
“We’re bringing families together from the region,” executive director for BNHR Fernando Garcia said. “It’s to listen to communities, to galvanize communities on the idea that they need to fight for justice. They need to fight against fear, and they need to fight for their rights, especially in these moments.”
The rally comes as President Donald Trump marks his 100th day in office.
“It’s been catastrophic for immigrant communities,” Garcia said. “People will continue fighting, even in these moments where there’s a lot of uncertainty.”
El Paso county judge Veronica Escobar was one of the speakers in attendance.
“Immigrants make our country better and diversity makes our country and communities better. It is tragic to see family separation,” Escobar said. “There’s now an incredible wave of fear that has come over them.”
Earlier in the week Senate Bill 4 was passed by the Texas House. The controversial, so-called “sanctuary city” bill, would make it so that local law enforcement could be asked to enforce federal immigration law.
Escobar said this is a big blow for the undocumented community, as they might not speak up about crimes for fear that their immigration status could be checked.
“It creates less safe communities,” Escobar said. “We have a number of federal law enforcement agents who are trained to do their job. We have local law enforcement agents trained to do their job. They are two separate jobs.”
The Caravan Against Fear began its tour of rallies in Sacramento, California on April 10th. They have since made their way to Texas to advocate for immigrants’ rights.
“We’ve seen a lot, and we’ve heard a lot of stories. We’re more convinced than ever, that not only can we win this struggle — but that we have to win it on behalf of all the people that we’ve met,” Caravan Against Fear member Ted Lewis said.
