Local demonstrators rallied against recent immigration laws on Sunday, Feb.2, in downtown Wichita Falls.
President Donald Trump’s first weeks in office have brought several unexpected and sudden changes, the most significant of which was enabling a national immigration crackdown that first targeted major sanctuary cities such as Chicago and San Francisco.
In Wichita Falls, locals fear their friends, their families and their children are no longer safe.
Amid growing fear and rising uncertainty for their future, protesters have gathered to rally for their rights.
In a comment for KFDX, Jessiena Pando claimed that, “We have a big population here in Wichita Falls, and a lot of our schools have a lot of Spanish-speaking students that are scared. And we need to make it aware that it isn’t right if immigration goes into our schools or goes anywhere, that people are here to learn and work.”
The protest began around 3 p.m. in front of Big Blue Properties on Scott Street with only a small group of people. Within the next few hours, hundreds of people joined and walked down to 10th Street and Indiana Street.
Wichita Falls Police Department was present during the rally ensuring the demonstrators were exercising their right to protest safely.
WFPD Sgt. Brett Keith gave a press statement stating that patrol officers made no arrests during the protest, though one individual was detained but released shortly after.
He added that officers had to intervene for traffic stops and citation issues.
“We want people to practice their First Amendment rights. They have every right to do that. We just want it to be peaceful,” Keith said.
President Trump made the immigration crisis in America the center piece of his political campaign, promising to reach record deportation numbers during his second term.
A report issued by the Department of Homeland Security on February 4 showed that in the first two weeks of the second Trump administration, almost 5,700 illegal immigrants were deported.
