Hundreds Descend On Texas Capitol Supporting DACA, Celebrating SB 4 Reprieve

AUSTIN, TX — More than 400 people descended to the grounds of the state Capitol on Saturday to celebrate the temporary block of a controversial anti-immigration Texas measure and to voice support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program now in jeopardy of being ended by the Trump administration.

Dubbed the Unity March Against Hate and To Defend DACA, the rally was organized by the pro-immigrant advocacy group called Jolt. Roughly 400 people were counted, a gathering that grew after metamorphosing into a march.

Among the speakers at the event were U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, District 2 Austin City Council member Delia Garza and District 4 Austin City Council member Greg Casar.

But the gathering featured more than speeches. Intermittently, Latino musical acts performed, including san Antonio-based indie rock band Girl In A Coma and Grammy Award-winning, Los Angeles-based band La Santa Cecilia. Also performing musical numbers was a group of young women clad in the formal dress of quinceañeras, girls celebrating their coming of age that is a tradition throughout Latin America, particularly in Mexico.

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¡Basta el odio! marchers chanted, decrying the possible repeal of DACA that protects more than 800,000 immigrants across the U.S. who arrived to the country as children—100,000 of them in Texas alone. Stop the hate, the chant means in English. "¡El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido!" went another popular chant: The people united will never be defeated! the chant goes, often changed in English for rhyming considerations to "The people united shall never be divided."

Donald Trump had been expected to end the DACA program enacted by President Barack Obama on Friday, but an announcement on the program's future was postponed until Tuesday. The possibility of that program ending has resulted in mass anxiety among so-called "Dreamers," young immigrants who entered the country as children—some of them now with U.S.-born siblings—without the proper documentation.

But there was also an air of celebration given a judge's recent ruling that blocked Senate Bill 4 from taking effect on Sept. 1. Championed aggressively by Gov. Greg Abbott, SB 4 called for fining and even jailing law enforcement officials at local jurisdictions deemed to not fully cooperating with Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agents in helping deport the undocumented. The controversial law also would have allowed police to inquire about the documentation status of those they encountered, even during routine traffic stops.

Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have vowed to appeal last week's ruling by the federal judge that has temporarily halted SB 4 from taking effect. The judge rejected the law as unconstitutional, a view with which both politicians disagree vehemently.

Jolt Executive Director Cristina Tzintzún said that while she was buoyed by the temporary block of SB 4, opponents of the law can't be lulled into a sense of complacency. She also expressed concern about the future of DACA and the effect its end would have on millions of young immigrants.

"We're organized because as a Latino community, we're tired of being treated with disrespect event though we make up 40 percent of this state and will soon be a majority," she told Patch during an impromptu interview. "So we're here to send a message to politicians that we will not comply with legislation of hate, that we will meet their hate with love for our community and love for families and we refuse to go back on the gains of the civil rights movement."

But the elation of the judge's tossing out of SB 4 is tempered with fears about the future of DACA, Tzintzún said.

"We're incredibly glad that the federal court found SB 4 to be unconstitutional," she said. "It is the most far-reaching, extreme anti-immigrant, anti-Latino pieces of legislation to pass in this country. Our fight against white supremacy didn't end in the civil rights movement. White supremacists don't just occupy the streets of Charlottesville; they occupy the highest levels of government.

"We're glad that right now our communities can live and breathe free for a little bit, but DACA is potentially going to be repealed this weekend. So the fight is not over."

Brownsville, Texas, native Paula Saldaña, is a member of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and represents the Texas Latina Advocacy Network. She explained the reasons why she made the six-hour drive to participate in the rally.

"We're here to send a message to the governor and the state legislators that we're not going to send for hateful laws," she told Patch. "SB 4 greatly affects my community. That law is just going to put barriers and my community is not going to be able to access health, education or security."

>>> Photos by Tony Cantú