The “No Ban, No Wall” protest, held at the Texas State on Capitol Saturday afternoon, rallied Texans to support the Latinx and Muslim communities. Everyone, from city council members to young children, joined together to protest President Trump’s recent executive orders, one calling for a travel ban from predominantly-Muslim countries, the other calling for a wall across our southern border. Everyone at the protest shared one purpose–to show solidarity, offer a safe space for community building, and voice concerns to fellow citizens and legislators.
Story by Sofia Mendiola
Photos by Humza Ahmed
Leo Acton holds a green sign that says, “Godzilla against Trump” at the “No Ban, No Wall rally on Saturday.
“I am here because I am Mexican- American. Right now, my mom who was born this country is afraid to speak Spanish with her sisters out in the world, which feels incredibly wrong to me. Just the fact she is afraid to visit to me in Austin, because of all the ICE things going on, even though she’s a documented person here. I just feel like it is breaking up families and it makes no sense at all to make any of us safer. I feel there are so many other things that we should be worried about besides this. This feels like racism.” —Deann Acton
Claire Kennedy holds two signs at the “No Ban, No Wall” protest. One reads, “Dignity for all people” and the other says, “What Would Jesus Do?”
“I feel helpless to affect any kind of change, and in my anxiety of the fear over what is going on, I find strength and some peace knowing I am not alone. There’s a lot of people who are afraid, upset, and losing sleep. So here I am.” —Claire Kennedy
Victor Perez holds a Mexican flag, a Honduran flag, and wears an American flag around his neck in front of the Capitol.
“I rally for people who are close to me. My father is from Guatemala and my husband is from Honduras, [they] are both undocumented. I worry for their safety.They are my family and I just want them to be safe.” —Victor Perez
Tanya Welch holds a sign that says, “Never Again! Never Again! Never Again!” at the rally.
“Why? Anybody who knows our history, knows this is how the Holocaust started and I am definitely going to be on the right side of history.” —Tanya Welch
Samuel Cervantes and Karla Perez where t-shirts in support of people who are undocumented.
“I’m here to support all the intersectionality that is across Texas. That would be every single minority, such as people who are Muslim, people who are LGBT, people who are undocumented. I am here to especially rally for my undocumented community. In the last few days, we are seeing a shocking increase of raids all across the United States. That puts me in a stage of fear, however, I am going to utilize that fear and turn it into power and strength to mobilize my community and to mobilize allies. To show the Federal Government that we are here, and we are going to be here to stay for the rest of our lives.” —Samuel Cervantes
Zainab Haider, right, holds a sign that says, “Your bombs create the refugees” and Tasbiha Batool, left, holds a sign that says, “The Muslim Resistance .com” near the Capitol.
“I’m here because I think the United States foreign policy has created a lot of the problems we are trying to counter here today. It is not just about letting refugees into the country, but understanding the reasons why there are refugees. A lot of the problems all around the world, everything from Syria to Iraq are tied to American foreign policy and what America has done to the world. It is not just refugees should be welcomed here, America owes the world, a lot.” —Zainab Haider
“We not only stand against No Muslim Ban or No Wall Around Mexico. We also stand against Muslim registry, we stand against acts such as the Patriot Act, we stand against CVE, we stand against American foreign policy that drop bombs, and we stand against drone strikes. That is the main reason why we are here; we are here to build collations with people and to organize standing solidarity with our Hispanic brothers and sisters, and we believe in collective liberation, and that is why we are here.” —Tasbiha Batool
Santos Diaz wears a green headdress at the “No Ban, No Wall” rally.
“I rally because I do not want anymore people to get deported and leave children abandoned. The other thing is there are people living in fear while heading into work, and that is why we stand here today for them.” —Santos Diaz
