What happened?
Nearly 2,000 protesters filled the sidewalk along Shaw Avenue on Saturday as part of a nationwide protest calling out President Donald Trump’s cuts to social programs and services.
As part of larger nationwide protests, nearly 2,000 Fresnans gathered along East Shaw Avenue on Saturday to speak out against the Trump administration’s policies affecting multiple sectors of American life, including healthcare, immigration and education.
Fresno’s protest was one of many “Hands Off!” protests that took place across the country, with an estimated 1,200 in total organized by a coalition of organizations that include MoveOn, Indivisible, Women’s March and the 50501 movement.
“We are here to defend our rights and we are here to advocate that we don’t like Trump and [that] he needs to go,” said Daney Riojas, an activist who attended the protest.
Many at Fresno’s protest concealed their faces to protect their identities, saying some protesters had been doxed at a previous demonstration on March 29 in front of the Tesla dealership.
“We should be calling out what they really are, they are Proud Boys trying to spin a narrative but they never show [themselves],” said a protester who wished to remain anonymous.
The scope of the protests’ grievances extended to a multitude of issues, including Trump’s tariffs, budget cuts affecting social programs and the use of federal agents to detain people involved in protests supporting Palestine.
Leslie Delgado, a college student majoring in surgical technology, held a sign calling for the freedom of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist who helped organize demonstrations at Columbia University and was detained by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in March.
“I’m here to talk for people who can’t like Khalil,” said Delgado, adding “he was unjustly taken, he was using his freedom of speech.”
Following an executive order aimed at combating anti-Semitism, the current administration has detained multiple foreign students and revoked their visas, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that the administration has revoked over 300 visas as of March 27.
When asked about Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student who was tied to pro-Palestine demonstrations and was detained by plainclothes federal agents, Rubio said that visas would be revoked if foreign students participated in protests.
“We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses,” said Rubio on March 27 during a joint news conference. “And if we’ve given you a visa and then you decide to do that, we’re going to take it away.”
While Delgado expressed concerns over freedom of speech on college campuses, she encouraged people to “fight for what’s right.”
“I think that Fresno is starting to join the right side,” Riojas said. “It’s really amazing to see so many people with so many different causes show up and feel that they were heard.”
Riojas also encouraged residents to come out to future demonstrations and to not feel discouraged if they are unable to participate.
“Please don’t be discouraged [if] you can’t be out here protesting, because there are things that you can do, whether it’s sharing something to your social media or informing your friend.”
