Minneapolis protest rejects Trump border wall and attacks on immigrants

Minneapolis, MN – Protesters gathered Wednesday evening, January 9, in frigid weather, on Lake Street in south Minneapolis to say no to President Trump’s border wall and his racist attacks on immigrants. The protest was organized on less than a 24-hour notice by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC).

President Trump went on national TV from the Oval Office Tuesday night, spewing a string of lies and racist manipulation in an attempt to pressure congressional Democrats to fund his border wall in order to end the partial government shutdown, which is now the second longest shutdown in U.S. history.

Rumors swirled that the president might use the January 8 broadcast to declare a national state of emergency in order to bypass Congress and simply go forward building a wall without their approval.

A declaration of a state of emergency gives the president broad powers to take unilateral actions that can include many attacks on people’s rights. President Bush declared a state of emergency after 9/11, signing Proclamation 7463, which gave himself sweeping powers to mobilize the military and bypass normal congressional approvals and restrictions. That state of emergency has been renewed by Presidents Bush, Obama and now Trump every year since 2001.

While Trump didn’t declare a state of emergency on Tuesday to build a border wall, on Thursday morning he told reporters he is very likely to do so soon if Congress doesn’t fund his wall. Trump said, “if this doesn’t work out, probably I will do it. I would almost say definitely.”

Congressional Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi so far have not given Trump the wall funding he is demanding to end the government shut down. But they will face increasing pressure to compromise with Trump in the coming days as the shutdown is leaving large numbers of federal workers working without pay. Protesters said they will continue to demand that Schumer and Pelosi refuse to give any money for Trump’s wall.