MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Demonstrations have been taking place across the country in response to the Trump administration's immigration raids in Los Angeles and the administration's decision to send in the military. And as our reporters have been covering the demonstrations, they've been learning that the protesters come from different backgrounds, have different ideologies and different political affiliations. Some are with unions, advocacy groups or religious organizations. Some just came on their own. Crystal Calixto (ph), 31, was in Dallas.
CRYSTAL CALIXTO: I've been crying. My mom is an immigrant. My whole family were immigrants. She came to this country with seven children when she crossed the border. Thankfully, we're all citizens now. And, you know, it's sad that people are still living in fear. We're not going to be quiet. We're going to keep on fighting. And, you know, power is in the numbers, and if more people keep showing up, we're going to make a difference, eventually.
MARTIN: Jovan Costilla (ph) in Dallas is 21.
JOVAN COSTILLA: For all the younger Hispanics out there, whether, you know, whether you're Afro Latino, Mexican, Salvadoran, Honduran, and to really reach out to people, you know, your older siblings, teachers and find out the truth, you know, educate yourself and let the ignorance behind, you know?
MARTIN: Jeanette (ph) is also 21. She was protesting in Manhattan. She asked that her last name be withheld for fear of retaliation.
JEANETTE: I'm going into the military, so I feel like it's more important for me as somebody who's going to be a part of the government to voice my opinion and show that there can be people that are for the U.S. but still against what this administration is doing today.
MARTIN: Nallely Calderon (ph) was outside a detention center holding migrants in downtown LA.
NALLELY CALDERON: Thank God my mom's a citizen as of now, but if this would have happened 10 years ago, she would have been taken. My nephew, his friends at school - so it's - his dad was just taken. It's something that these kids shouldn't have to go through. We shouldn't be seeing this. And just for everybody that voted for Trump, especially in our Latin community, it's embarrassing. It's disappointing. And we're just standing here because we can be here. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.