Anum Valliani
NewsWest 9
MARFA - The U.S. Border Patrol Station in Marfa was barricaded off in anticipation of a protest on Monday morning.
"Hey hey, ho ho! To mass deportation, we say no!" That's the message chanted at what resulted as one of the first demonstrations in West Texas that supports asylum for the thousands of Central American immigrants that have recently flooded into the U.S. The predominately alien children are being sheltered by the masses in Artesia, North Texas and other places across the nation.
"This is a demonstration in the name of love of children and it is for the sake of our humanity that we're here," Protest Organizer, Lineaus Lorette, said.
Lorette cited past examples of when decisions on immigration cost lives.
"May 1939, this country turned away 5,000 German Jews who were trying to escape Hitler and we returned them to be consumed by the Holocaust. There are a lot of people, including myself, who are not going to let that happen again," he said. "It is my hope that this little demonstration lights a fire among the righteous."
According to Lorrete, each child should have the chance at freedom and his day in court and providing for them in the meantime should be manageable
"We're the richest country in the world. We can find the resources to help these kids. We're not going to turn them away without a fight," he said.
Another demonstrator, Violeta McGlochlin, knows the struggle all too well. She came to the U.S. upon marriage a few years ago but before that she lived in a violence-ridden Monterrey.
"I was afraid everyday because everything could happen so I can tell that being a kid and living in a place like that it's awful. It's a place where you can find grenades in parks, where you can be killed for anything, no matter if you're rich or poor, no matter if you're a woman, kid or a man, so I can totally empathize with the feeling of letting your kids go and find a better place and that's what I'm here for," she explained.
Local authorities were notified about the demonstration in advance. Organizers said fear of possible repercussions led to a lower turnout than what it could have been. Just over a handful of protesters came out, some of which included kids fighting for their own.
11-year-old Catching Marginot, who joined the rally with two of his siblings and mother, thinks, "it's really sad and it's cruel. Like if our lives were in their footsteps, how would that be life-changing if we had to suffer what they did, escape and all that," he said.
On Monday afternoon, Governor Rick Perry announced deploying up to 1,000 troops with the Texas National Guard to help secure the border near the lower valley. Lorette said it wouldn't matter if 1,000 more Border Patrol officers were sent there, but the idea that the Guard, whose untrained in human rights will be armed against the children, has Lorette enraged.
