AURORA, Colo. (AP) — Several hundred people marched from Denver to Aurora on Saturday to urge the new Trump administration and Congress to work together to solve problems with immigration, saying they "want to build bridges, not walls."
The crowd ended its march at the Aurora immigration detention center to show solidarity with people who are being held there on immigration charges.
Supporters linked arms around a group of Hispanic demonstrators outside the detention center in a symbolic protest against the U.S. government's immigration policies, chanting "We are the wall."
Organizer Michelle Warren compared the march with the civil rights marches of the 1960s, trying to find peaceful solutions to immigration problems.
"We want to build bridges, not walls," Warren said.
Warren said many Hispanic supporters are afraid of retribution and opted not to participate in Saturday's demonstration.
"Immigrants are our friends. We are going to fight for them. There are a lot of immigrant organizations that wanted to walk with us, but they didn't, because they are afraid," Warren said. "They're worried about their safety."
Warren said their fears "are not unfounded," because of the anti-immigrant campaigns during the recent national elections.
Warren said the marchers for the National Immigration Forum are not anti-government.
"We're not working against Trump. We want to work with the government," Warren said.
