On Feb. 11, Fresno City College students led a protest to advocate for the protection of immigrant families, demanding change for a better future. Roughly 10 students marched from the FCC sign on North Van Ness and East McKinley Avenues to North Blackstone and East McKinley.

A student-led protest advocated for the protection of immigrant families, demanding change for a better future.

“A family member was deported when I was a young kid and I grew up without that figure in my life and I am using my time to help in the fight so that no one else has to feel that. No one else has to go on without that person,” protester Arion Grajeda said.

Protester Larrisa Trillo, a Fresno City College student, has also attended school in San Francisco. She has seen the differences between student protests here and at other colleges

“Seeing a lot of my friends get involved in protests on campus is really liberating to students like me that haven’t truly put themselves out there to protest. I think Fresno City gave an outlet to kids that always wanted to protest and speak their mind,” Trillo said.

One of President Donald Trump’s first executive orders on Jan. 20 was to tighten U.S. border control and target immigration protections. This mobilized the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to enforce mass incarceration and deportation from the U.S. It includes a policy to press criminal charges against individuals the order describes as violating immigration laws.

This executive order targets all immigrants entering without legal permission, not just individuals who commit violent crimes. It places a target on mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters who came to this country for better opportunities. Protests against Trump’s actions can be seen all over the country.

These students shared a sentiment of “no one is illegal on stolen land,” carrying signs and a Mexican flag. People driving by honked in approval of the student protest.

Protest organizer Dante Mendoza marched with their peers to spread the importance of this message to protect undocumented immigrants and their families.

“When people now talk about immigrants, they’re not talking about European immigrants, they’re not talking about Asian immigrants, they’re not talking about anyone else but Mexican immigrants,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza and fellow protesters stood in support of their family and neighbors who are terrified of the implications of this executive order.

“Our community is scared. So by doing this, we’re taking a stand to protect our community and to protect undocumented families who are here for a better life,” Mendoza said.

Protestors marched from one intersection to another on the outskirts of FCC campus.

“We are the next generation of Americans. You have to do something about it before it all changes. We stand for each other,” protester Brisa Pacheco said.

This article was updated to add the date and location of the protest. Edits have been made to remove bias from the article.