Wearing sashes reading “No hate” and “United Families,” 15 Latina teens protested Texas’s racist “show me your papers” law in a quinceañera-themed demonstration organized by grassroots group Jolt. Quinceañeras are traditional celebrations marking a young girl’s transition into adulthood. Quinceañeras "are also about uniting community in celebration,” which became the demonstration’s inspiration. “SB4 makes simply being brown a crime,” said 17-year-old Magadelena Juarez, one of the quinceañeras. “We will resist by celebrating our families and our culture. We will resist by standing in unity”:
The protest included speeches by several of the girls and a choreographed dance to traditional music, as well as modern hits like the rap song “Immigrants” by artists K’naan and Snow Tha Product.
After the dance, the women delivered gift baskets to legislators who voted against SB4. They then delivered photos of 16-year-old protester Jennifer Ramirez posing as the statue of liberty to legislators who voted for SB4. During the protest, Ramirez recited the poem “The New Colossus,” which is engraved on the Statue of Liberty.
“They built the Statue of Liberty for freedom,“ Ramirez said. “For them to write this law, it doesn’t give us that freedom that they supposedly stand for.”
Gov. Greg Abbott’s SB4 is a clear attack on the state’s Latino and immigrant communities, who make up nearly 40 percent of the population. But for some of the quinceañeras, it gets even more personal. “I am undocumented, and SB4 is a law that is racist and that has a lot of people scared,” Daniela Rojas, another quinceañera, told the Daily Dot. “It’s important for the community to fight back. It’s important for us to show our cultural heritage and be proud of it.”
The quinceañeras not only made clear that Texas is their home, but also made clear the fact that Latinos and immigrants are a vital force behind economies. According to data from the American Immigration Council, “purchasing power of Latinos in Texas totaled $240.7 billion” in 2014, “an increase of 634% since 1990.” Among “Texas’s 447,589 Latino-owned businesses,” sales totaled $61.9 billion. "Our economy cannot run without immigrants and without Latinos,” declared one quinceañera:
Wednesday’s protest overlapped with the beginning of a special legislative session. On Tuesday, the first day of the session, Sen. Jose Mendez (D) filed a bill to repeal SB4. The city of San Antonio and its surrounding Bexar County are among those who have filed lawsuits against Texas over SB4 in the months after its signing into law.
“I think it’s important to show that we have a lot of pride for our community and pride for our culture,” said Jolt’s Leslie Abraham. “We’re going to celebrate our existence and joyfully protest these hateful acts.”