GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Movimiento Cosecha, a nonviolent organization that fights for immigrants’ rights, held a pro-immigration rally at Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids.
Former President Donald Trump was in Grand Rapids today as well. He held a news conference and spoke about Biden’s immigration policies. Trump also spoke about Ruby Garcia, a woman who was killed allegedly at the hands of an undocumented immigrant.
Gema Lowe, the event organizer, hoped to make the point that that incident did not represent the majority of immigrants in the country.
“One tragic incident that was due to domestic violence is not who we are,” she told News Channel 3.
Protestors started at Rosa Parks circle, marched down Monroe Avenue, and stopping just before the DeVos Place Convention Center, where Trump spoke. A large number of Trump supporters were lined up across the street. Protestors pushed back against Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric.
“It’s a bad representation of the immigration community, I would say,” said Peter Berdo, who came out to support the rally.
Some protestors who turned out have been fighting for their beliefs for decades. They were encouraged by how many young people turned out to support immigrants’ rights.
“I’m proud of them, and I wish there were more,” said Catherine Kleinebreil.
Her husband, Donald Kleinebreil, was born in 1941 and has been protesting and rallying on the front lines since the Reagan administration.
“I think we should accept people today,” he said. “We have a lot of room yet for people. We need workers, we need workers, hard workers.”
The rally wrapped up at around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Trump turned the attention over to President Joe Biden’s campaign and policies on immigration.
“Beautifully young woman was murdered by an illegal alien, under the trump administration this monster had been thrown out of the country, wasn’t going to be able to come back..crooked Joe Biden took him back and let him back in and he viciously killed Ruby,” Trump said.
Click here to watch Trump’s full speech.
