By Calvin Pynn, contributor
Loud chants of: “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here!” echoed through downtown Harrisonburg Saturday afternoon.
More than 500 people marched in support of Harrisonburg’s immigrant community. Karen Valdez, one of the organizers, said the protest was in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump to expand ICE operations in the U.S.
“We wanted to speak up about what’s going on with immigration related to the laws that [President Trump] recently passed and that have been really harsh with our immigrant community throughout the United States,” Valdez said.
She said the Friendly City’s immigrant community has felt anxiety regarding the order shortly after Trump was sworn in.
“People have fear, and a lot of people feel unsafe,” Valdez said. “And so we really wanted to do this march — this peaceful march — because we wanted to make sure that our community knew that we care about them, that we are here for them, and that we are going to stand with them through these hard times.”
That sentiment proved true as many cars honked their horns in support as protesters marched the entire length of downtown Harrisonburg on South Main Street. A James Madison University fraternity house along the path also blasted reggaeton music from their front yard in what appeared to be a similar display of solidarity.
The crowd of protesters gathered at the Elizabeth Street parking deck next to Trinity Catholic Church and walked to the intersection of South Main and Martin Luther King Jr. Way before retracing the downtown area back to the parking deck. While the march was originally going to stop near Hotel Madison on South Main, organizers leading the procession decided to turn back when they realized that crossing the busy intersection would not be feasible with the larger-than-expected crowd.
“I am, frankly, very surprised,” Valdez said, regarding the turnout of more than 500 people. “But when I saw all the people that were here, I was really happy. I was really enthusiastic to see so much of our community come out and support each other.”
Many of the protesters carried signs with slogans supporting the city’s immigrant community, such as “Families belong together,” “Diversity is our strength,” “Descended from immigrants” and “You can’t love our food and not our people”
Some carried flags representing various nations and movements, including the U.S. flag, United Mexican States flag and the “Antifascist International” banner.
The protesters also chanted: “our people, united, we’ll never be divided!” alternating English and Spanish translations of the phrase.
At one point, some repeatedly shouted: “deport Elon Musk!” in response to the tech billionaire’s access to multiple federal agencies for President Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has been the subject of both controversy and legal challenges.
Angel Luna Anavitate, a Harrisonburg immigration attorney with the firm LunaVita Law, was among the protesters Saturday afternoon. He said despite the Trump administration’s intent to differentiate between legal and undocumented immigrants, the recent push to ramp up deportation efforts has blurred those lines.
“I’ve seen hard working family members of over 20 years being caught in this crossfire, and they have been picked up by ICE and they are not even given due process,” Anavitate said.
Before the march began, he addressed the crowd and distributed cards with tips on how to navigate an encounter with ICE agents.
“They are fearful right now that they can’t come out because ICE is going to get them, and they just have to know that they don’t have to talk to an ICE officer, they don’t have to identify themselves, they don’t have to give them their status or give them any kind of documentation,” Anavitate said. “If ICE doesn’t have a warrant for your arrest or a warrant to search you, they are not supposed to go against you. So as long as you open that door, they will be able to do a lot of stuff that, in the end, will harm you when you’re going through proceedings.”
ICE operates locally from a satellite office on Neff Avenue in Harrisonburg, which was originally established for check-ins but has expanded operations recently with the change in enforcement priorities.The change, Anavitate said, is cause for concern.
“I do know they’re actively working and looking for people that have certain charges such as DUIs, assault and battery,” Anavitate said. “Even if they were dismissed or nolle prosequi, they are going against them because that’s a different situation with ICE.”
Such enforcement priorities, he said, have also been elevated with the recently established Laken Riley Act, which requires the federal detention of undocumented immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes.
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