Dozens gathered on the west steps of the Colorado capitol building Wednesday morning to call for increased rights — including driver’s licenses — for those living in the country illegally and an end to deportations.
“We want to live with dignity and without fear,” said Gina Millan, an organizer for the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights.
The demonstration comes as fears and uncertainty are flaring in immigrant populations throughout the state and country on the heels of Donald Trump’s election to the presidency. Trump made immigration a central plank of his campaign, and his opening gambit includes plans to speed up the deportations of what his campaign described as 2 million “criminal illegal immigrants.”
The group: pic.twitter.com/IIp3be889O
— Jesse Aaron Paul (@JesseAPaul) November 16, 2016
Immigrant attorneys and activists in Colorado say they have experienced a wave of calls from those living in the country illegally who are worried about their future under Trump’s leadership.
The issue is particularly important to Colorado, where Latinos make up more than one in five residents. There are an estimated 200,000 immigrants living illegally in the state, according to the Pew Research Center.
Last week, protesters gathered at Denver’s Barnum Park in support of the state’s immigrant community. Colorado’s two largest police departments — Aurora and Denver — have issued statements reassuring residents they will not enforce federal immigration laws.
On Tuesday evening, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said in a video posted to YouTube that he’s heard the concerns of city residents who worry about what Trump’s coming presidency may mean for immigrants, gays, racial minorities and women who felt targeted during the campaign.
“I want to be clear,” Hancock says in a video, “You can count on me, and you can count on your city. We’ve got your back.”
“There’s definitely a surge of uncertainty,” Juan Gallegos, civic engagement manager for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, said during Wednesday’s demonstration.
Gallegos said since Trump’s election there has also been a wave of people wanting to volunteer and help groups like his.
“We’re trying to boost our numbers and get as many hands on deck as possible,” he said.
The roughly hour-long rally included speakers calling on local, state and federal lawmakers to increase the rights of those living in the country illegally. Specifically, demonstrators called for increased funding for Colorado’s embattled immigrant driver’s license program.
Those gathered are calling for the protection of immigrants and the acceptance of refugees and to demand pro-immigrant legislation
— Jesse Aaron Paul (@JesseAPaul) November 16, 2016
Months-long wait times plague applicants for the program and there are a limited number of offices where people can apply. Immigrants and activist groups have complained that the initiative, which was lauded as a way to make Colorado’s roads safer, is so cash-strapped that it’s nearly impossible to actually get a license.
Kerry Gutierrez, a first-time voter this election whose father was deported when she was 13 years old, told those gathered not to give up on the battle for the rights of those living in the country illegally. She called Trump’s election “devastating” and said she initially felt hopeless before realizing that she now needs to be more active than ever.
“I need my voice to be heard,” she said. “I am not giving up.”