More than a thousand walk through downtown El Paso streets for Women's March on the Border
EL PASO, Texas — President Donald Trump's swearing-in ceremony sparked massive organized protests from sea to shining sea that brought millions to the streets.
More than 500,000 spoke up for the "health, safety, and dignity of women" at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Saturday morning.
This march was organized in response to what demonstrators say was an election cycle marked by derogatory and threatening rhetoric.
Hundreds of sister marches also happened simultaneously across the nation—including in the Borderland.
A little drizzle and cold temps didn’t stop the crowd of over a thousand people from marching through downtown El Paso.
The marchers were young and old, and from all walks of life. They tell KFOX14 they took to the streets to promote unity and action.
“I stand in favor of the American people,” said marcher Lynda Duke.
The El Paso march was, of course, just one of hundreds of women’s marches taking place across the nation on Saturday.
But this one was particularly unique—not only were marchers taking a stand on women’s rights, they also spoke out on immigration issues that hit close to home in the Borderland.
“We will fight against proposals that would seek to deport our dreamers and we just want to show that we're mobilized and ready to support good things but also to defend against policies that would hurt this community,” said march organizer Susie Byrd.
“We have a voice and we need to use it,” said marcher Lucy Jimenez.
People chanted, yelled and danced as they made their way from Armijo Park to San Jacinto Plaza.
“If we keep doing this, then they will get the message. Eventually, they will get the message,” Duke said.
Throughout the march downtown, things remained peaceful. Police officers kept the vehicle and foot traffic under control to ensure everything went smoothly.
Once everyone reached San Jacinto Plaza, a crowd formed as the marchers listened to several women give speeches, which included El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar.
Those taking part in the rally tell KFOX14 they did this to unify and strengthen the Borderland community.
“Not a lot of people are active enough in their local governments and making their voices heard, so hopefully this is a wake-up call to make people care more about their country and the direction that its heading,” said marcher June Harvey.
The thousands of people at the Women's March on the Border are just a small sampling of the movement nationwide.
It's already being estimated as being one of the biggest one day protests in U.S. history.
Crowd estimates right now show that more than 3 million people took part in the march nationwide.
