DENVER — Thousands of Coloradans spoke out against Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement on Friday.
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It comes less than one week after 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, the second person agents killed in the city this month amid confrontations with protestors. The latest shooting has led to a shake-up in U.S. Border Patrol leadership and the arrival of Border Czar Tom Homan in Minnesota.
Friday’s demonstrations in Colorado included hundreds hitting the streets with chants, signs and flags.
“For me, it's about kind of trying to send a message,” said Gil Connelly, a Lakewood High School student protesting outside the State Capitol in Denver. “Even if it's not necessarily helping with the material conditions of immigrants who are struggling, it's more so about creating a community of solidarity.”
Others chose to make a statement with their wallets by avoiding shopping. Several Colorado businesses closed for the day, while several others donated part of their day’s profits to local immigrant rights organizations.
“Within our greater community, outside of these four walls, we just want to support people that that we live with and work with and eat and drink with,” said Tyler Bray, assistant general manager at BurnDown on South Broadway in Denver, one of roughly two dozen businesses donating to the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN).
The non-profit started 25 years ago to provide legal representation for immigrants in court for civil violations. Unlike criminal court in the U.S., the immigration court system does not provide attorneys for people who cannot afford them.
“Our lawyers and our social workers are on the front lines every day, fighting for justice, ensuring that kids are not forced to represent themselves in immigration court,” said Mekela Goehring, executive director at RMIAN.
Goehring says while donations from small businesses were not finalized by Friday night, the organization received more than $18,000 from more than 100 new community donors on Friday alone.
“This has been a powerful day and just an amazing showing of support at a time in which things have felt certainly quite dark,” Goehring said. “Proud to be a Coloradan today.”
MSU Denver political science professor Rob Preuhs points out that because it’s an election year, politicians are paying extra attention to what matters to Americans.
He says any economic disruption Friday may not be enough to sway politicians alone.
“I think this is much more about solidarity than it is about economics,” he told Denver7, saying the impact was minimized by the timing. “This was a relatively short time period. I mean, I think it was announced around Wednesday, or earlier this week.”
But he says the turnout was impressive enough to suggest that more protests could be on the way, which could impact decisions and races later this year.
“Some of the major closures, particularly in the schools, that's really indicative of the breadth of concern and participation,” Preuhs said. “Whether it's immediately going down to protest, or whether it's more quietly staying at home and refraining from activity in the economy, those types of elements are hints that this is a growing movement.”
