People came from around the Coastal Bend to join a peaceful protest on Jan. 31 in Water’s Edge Park on Shoreline Boulevard in downtown Corpus Christi.
Event organizer KJ Alaniz said they wanted to protest ICE’s presence in their community and make known their opinion of the U.S. government for allowing it.
“The idea to host another protest came when I saw ICE sightings/kidnappings becoming more rampant in our area. I had attended anti-migra protest before, but I hadn’t heard of anyone else planning anything and I was losing my mind just seeing post after post on social media about it,” said Alaniz. “After asking around me, Milo and Coastal Bend ICE Watch got together and began planning.”
“I’m at this protest because I’m an elementary music teacher and had two students not return to my classroom,” said Alexis Ramirez, who brought her violin and played music during the protest. “I work in Robstown where ICE presence is frequent. My students are victim to what’s going on and are affected daily. When I go to call their number from the attendance website, the number doesn’t even ring because the number went dead.”
“As an educator I don’t know what to do, but I’m out here for my students, and my grandma that was deported as well.” Said Ramirez.
Corpus Christi is a Hispanic-majority community, with 62 percent of the population identifying as Hispanic or Latino. Protestors talked about how fear and distrust can cause unrest and discourage people to participate in activities such as school, work, and social life, which puts a hole in a predominantly Hispanic community.
“I’m a first-gen American, I actually believe in due process, but the administration responsible for it [isn’t] doing it,” said protestor Marissa Villarreal Paredez. “I grew up with the fear of my dad being taken by ICE, and now it’s a fear that the common person has, of being taken. I’m taking a stand here for the ones who can’t stand up for themselves out of fear.”
According to the Texas Tribune, ICE’s average daily arrests in Texas have more than doubled, from 85 under Biden to 176 under Trump.
Due to the increase in ICE’s arrests, there has been an increase of problems specifically in the workforce that have and will continue to affect society.
“All around there are less immigrants that are demanding and supplying for the economy, so overall there’s a loss of business and a lot less money coming into the workforce,” said David Lazcano, who works in construction as an insulator/plasterer. “I’ve experienced all the effects that ICE has had in our community. It’s a lot more work, there is less demand so less money for everyone who’s working, there’s less workers because half of the people I worked with were undocumented and now were shorthanded, and they were good people. In the end we’re all just trying to make an honest living.”
Alaniz hopes to continue to see the community coming together to support and protect each other. “I personally have family and friends who have struggled with their citizenship. Most of my life I’ve seen people I love struggling with deportation and having their families ripped apart. Now with the prevalence of ICE’s presence not only in the Coastal Bend but around the U.S., we as communities need to stick up for each other. We cannot let this fascist regime continue. We cannot allow our children, neighbors and families to be torn from their homes. No human is illegal, especially on stolen land.”
Alaniz said others interested in the cause can stay up-to-date with @icewatch361 on Instagram.
“Protect each other, because we are all we have.”
