On day one of his presidency Donald Trump enacted sweeping reform to immigration via executive orders. Since then, there has been mass deportation and detention of illegal immigrants in the United States.

“There’s a lot of changes in the wrong direction in this country and it’s just really scary. There’s a lot of uncertainty and it’s just terrible,” said Hannah Mitchell, one of the over a hundred protesters who gathered Sunday afternoon at Waters Edge Park in downtown Corpus Christi to voice their concern after new immigration policies enacted under the current Trump administration.

Sabrina Silva, a Corpus Christi resident who organized the protest said her goal was “for people to have more empathy for others that have less than us.” She made clear that she does not advocate for people who come into the country illegally and commit violent crimes or involve themselves in gangs. “I’m advocating for the families and the people that are here came undocumented, but are in our public school system, are working hard in agriculture, construction, and dairy farm jobs that we need, that are essential. They deserve the right to be here, especially if they are law-abiding people.”

A group of protesters stood on the side of the street, holding their signs and voicing their support for their undocumented community members as passersby honked and shouted in agreement. As the hot Texas sun came out on the overcast afternoon, they handed cold water to each other. A sense of community and camaraderie held this crowd together as a small group of counter-protesters came to voice their disdain with the message being spread

One counter-protester, Joe Garza, had arrived with a large American flag, his dog ChaCha, and a sign reading “Go Trump Go.” He stood on the opposite side of the street and began to shout back and forth with protesters. “They need to educate themselves and be smart about what is going on.” Garza went on to express his support for President Trump, stating that he is not a criminal but rather the “victim of a Democratic smear campaign.”

Other counter-protesters drove by blasting Pro-Trump anthems, waving “Trump 2024” flags, and shouting obscenities at protesters. One man arrived in a red truck, large American flag waving, and started playing “Ice Ice, Baby.”

Houston resident Jared Gray said he was just visiting when they noticed the protest, and decided to get a pulse of the crowd. “We took the opportunity to see opposite points of view,” Gray said. “I enjoy sharing ideas, I’m out here because I want to see what everyone else has to say. I’m open to a friendly debate, I believe that’s what makes this country great.” Gray expressed that he doesn’t care where people come from, as long as they come through the correct legal avenues.

The first announcement of the protest came from a flyer circulating on social media advertising an “Anti-Trump/Anti-Deportation peaceful protest.” It included a short description for the event stating that: “America survives and thrives off the backs of immigrants all over the country. This is a dangerous time for our Mexican families, friends, and neighbors.”

The flyer listed a time and place, but no contact information for the organizer of the protest, leaving the validity of the event to initially be questioned. After a Facebook post from local blog The Corpus Christi Cronica, Silva decided to identify herself as the organizer and gave her reasons as to why she left her name off the flyer to begin with.

“I honestly did not want people to spam my phone with hateful messaging,” she wrote in the comment section of The Cronica’s Facebook post. “My intention is to use my privilege of being born a U.S. citizen to give a voice to those in our country without documentation.” She went on to state that she does not intend to “put America down” by any means, but rather to lift up those immigrants who work hard to support this country. “I am advocating to treat people, documented or not, with the respect I would want my parents to be treated with…”