Fifteen immigrant rights activists were arrested Wednesday after blocking traffic at the intersection of 15th Street and Congress Avenue during a sit-in to protest Attorney General Ken Paxton's push to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.
The Obama-era program protects undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, known as "Dreamers," from deportation. Last month, Paxton and nine other attorneys general wrote a letter to the Trump administration asking it to phase out the program.
“Not my crime. Not my fault. I have nowhere to go," DACA recipient Oscar Galindo said during the demonstration. The Austin resident said he was brought to the country when he was 4. "This is my home. I don’t understand why a lot of politicians want to get rid of us."
As police began arresting the demonstrators who were blocking the road, others called out: "Aguanta, el pueblo se levanta," which translates to "Endure, the people are rising."
Organizers called the march and sit-in the “first and largest undocumented-led direct action since Trump’s inauguration.”
