Hundreds of people marched through the streets of downtown Denver on Monday morning before rallying for immigrants’ rights outside the Colorado State Capitol.
Participants of all ages chanted the Spanish phrase, “Sí, se puede,” which means “Yes, we can” or “Yes, it can be done” in English. The motto is credited to Dolores Huerta, the co-founder of the United Farm Workers — who spoke at the Denver rally.
Standing in the bed of a red truck at the march’s start, Huerta, 94, gripped a microphone and told the crowd on Welton Street: “We are here to march for (undocumented immigrants) — to let them know that they are not alone.”
The rally took place on Latino Advocacy Day, a Colorado event that’s occurred for almost two decades to lobby lawmakers at the Capitol. This year, more than 300 people first convened in front of the Grand Hyatt Denver — many holding handmade signs and several waving Mexican flags.
As a collective, they criticized recent actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and pushed for immigrant community protections and women’s reproductive rights.
President Donald Trump has cracked down on immigration since he took office on Jan. 20, with his administration detaining and deporting an unconfirmed number of migrants without legal status — and, at one point, housing some at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. Although ICE has not been transparent about its enforcement activities, the agency’s Denver field office is seeking additional detention capacity in Colorado or Wyoming.
On Monday, Jeff Carlson, a 60-year-old pastor, held a sign listing reasons why the Lutheran Church is called to support immigrants.
He stood on a sidewalk with teacher Rachael Carcaterra, 59, and Maria Chansky, 58. They had traveled from Glenwood Springs for the march.
About the immigrant community, Carlson said: “They’re not alone in this. We want to be here — with them and for them.”
Other represented organizations included the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, the Voces Unidas, the St. Thomas Episcopal Church, New Era Colorado, GreenLatinos and the Denver branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
Leading the crowd through city streets from behind the wheel of a cream-colored Cadillac Fleetwood was former Colorado state Rep. Tim Hernández, with Huerta sitting in the passenger seat beside him once the procession began moving.
University of Colorado Denver students Reagan Doleman, 21, and Maya Baca, 20, walked behind the car. When asked what they hoped would come of the rally, Doleman responded: “Change. I hope (for) more change, I hope (for) more amplification of the actual issue.”
On the west steps of the Capitol, Alex Sánchez, the president and CEO of Voces Unidas, addressed the throng around noon. He said more than half of the gathered participants had traveled from outside of Denver to the rally.
He highlighted six measures that participants planned to back, including a House bill that would protect workers encountering high temperatures.
Kaylee Alejandra Hernández, a junior at Greeley West High School, was overcome with emotion when it was her turn to speak. At her first Latino Advocacy Day, she shared her experiences as the daughter of immigrants and a student who has seen fear in her community around ICE activity.
“My father came here when he was 10 — alone, without anything,” Hernández said. “And he has given me a life that he never had.”
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