Arizona DPS reopens I-10 freeway ramps in Phoenix after anti-Donald Trump rally
Feb 17, 2017, 3:55 PM | Updated: 7:37 pm
(Screenshot)
(Screenshot)
PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Public Safety has reopened two Interstate 10 freeway ramps on Friday following a protest against President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration.
The protest, called the Anti-Facist March and #GeneralStrike, was scheduled to run 4 to 6 p.m., according to a Facebook event page. (WARNING: LINK CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE)
“Trump is in the White House but the people have the power. We aren’t going to tolerate our communities being afraid of fascists, Nazis, racists, bigots, cops, and their supporters,” the post read. “Nazis go home. The streets aren’t safe for you!”
Protesters were told to gather at the Ranch Market at 16th and Roosevelt streets and to bring signs large enough for commuters to read. A bridge crosses I-10 at 16th Street.
DPS blocked the on- and off-ramps at 16th Street to prevent any protesters from getting onto the freeway. There was no timetable given them to reopen the ramps.
Police blocking 16th street freeway exit in Phoenix in wake of anti-trump protest pic.twitter.com/TSE5NcHDgb
— Daniel Perle (@danielperle19) February 17, 2017
Fewer than 150 people said they were going to the rally on the Facebook event page, while more than 300 said they were interested.
Phoenix has been a focus of Trump’s executive order that broadened the definition of a deportable person to include nearly all illegal immigrants.
A Mexican woman who lived in Phoenix, Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, became a symbol for activists after she was deported suddenly by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials last week following a routine immigration check.
On Friday, the Associated Press obtained an 11-page memo that said the Trump administration is considering a proposal to mobilize as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants, including millions living nowhere near the Mexico border.
