Hundreds rallied at Aurora’s snow-covered Fletcher Plaza on Saturday to express their opposition to mass deportations and other policy proposals championed by President Donald Trump. Addressing the crowd near Colfax Avenue — where some passing drivers honked and yelled in support of the group — speakers from progressive activist groups urged attendees to back Aurora’s immigrant community and resist federal enforcement actions. “We’ve all heard Trump’s rhetoric — the xenophobia, the racism, the misogyny, the transphobia and the absolute loathing for marginalized people all over the world,” Kat Draken of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization told attendees. “We’re not going to just sit around and do nothing for the next four years. We’re going to continue resisting. We’re going to continue to be out in the streets. We’re going to do everything we can to make the U.S. ungovernable. And as we do this, we’re going to build up the people’s organizations.” Often cited as Colorado’s most diverse city, Aurora was catapulted into the national spotlight last year when Trump cited Venezuelan gang activity at a troubled apartment complex as proof of the Biden administration’s failure to secure the country’s southern border. Tenants of the complex — Edge of Lowry, where the crowd marched after leaving the plaza — had long complained of neglect by the property’s owner. Aurora has since moved to shutter the apartments, which a municipal judge ordered closed by Feb. 18. Although the full scope of Trump’s plan to deport illegal immigrants remains unclear, he last year dubbed the effort “Operation Aurora,” stoking fears of family separations among locals. Daniel Rea, an Aurora resident whose family immigrated from Mexico, said the threat of children being taken from their parents in particular prompted him and others to brave the winter weather Saturday. “With everything that (Trump) has gotten away with, it’s about time for us to speak up,” he said. “We can’t let this keep going and getting worse.” Another attendee, Ash Navarro, described her frustrations as a social worker watching a rise in anti-immigrant sentiments and the risk of the government funding that benefits her clients drying up. “The past few years, I’ve been getting angrier and angrier. Growing up, I was always told by my parents and my family that this is supposed to be the promised land, and you’re supposed to have big dreams, and I ended up becoming a social worker to continue to fight for my family,” she said. “As time has passed and I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that our community has changed.” Attendees at Saturday’s rally hailed from across the state, with activist organizations from as far away as Colorado Springs setting up booths. Maria Jimenez of the Denver-based Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition was among the dozen speakers — she described her experience being deported from the United States in the aftermath of a traffic stop, which caused her to be separated from her children for five years. “It was humiliating and very hard for me and my family. There were sleepless nights crying. I could barely sleep thinking about my children,” Jimenez said through an interpreter. “I was thinking things like, ‘Have they eaten? Are they OK?’” Related Articles Colorado News | Denver, police officer appeal more than $14M in payouts to George Floyd protesters Colorado News | CU Boulder retaliated against pro-Palestine demonstration by stifling students’ free speech, lawsuit alleges Colorado News | Denver Mayor Mike Johnston sets off firestorm with vows to resist Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans Colorado News | Aurora police clear officer who fatally shot Kilyn Lewis Colorado News | CU Boulder condemns pro-Hamas, anti-Israel graffiti on campus Since returning to the U.S. with the help of advocacy groups, she said she recognized the importance of immigrants standing together to oppose policies that divide families. “We have to keep fighting so that they don’t continue to separate our families and our communities,” Jimenez said. “Together, we are going to struggle to change the narrative that is out there about us. … We are the migrants. We are the economy. We are the labor force.” Besides the president’s stance on immigration, speakers also expressed opposition to U.S. support for Israel’s military intervention in the Gaza Strip and conservative positions on LBGTQ+ issues and other topics expressed by Trump and his allies. “When we say our struggles are connected … we don’t mean it abstractly,” said Katie Leonard of the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Denver chapter, which helped organize the rally. “The same people who are sending billions of dollars to murder people in Palestine are the same people who want to spend endless amounts of money to deport people here.” Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.