AURORA, Colorado (CNN) — Protesters and counterprotesters again took to the streets of Denver on Saturday, a day after a protest outside the home of the warden of an ICE facility.
The marches — both in favor of and against Immigration and Customs Enforcement — started in Denver and went to Aurora, where the privately run ICE processing facility is located.
Dozens of protesters on both sides dug deep into what they believed was best for America. In between the war of shouting words, a police battle line was drawn.
“I don’t understand these people that want to just have open borders and let everybody in,” one protester said.
On the other side, one protester said: “We have a system that is structurally set up to hurt people of color.”
Those who want to abolish ICE gathered about 10 a.m. Saturday at Denver’s City Park and they made their way to Colfax Avenue, one of the city’s major thoroughfares.
“Why are you here today?” a reporter asked. “To tear down this racist system,” one protester replied.
The March for Justice continued toward Aurora, where demonstrators arrived at the ICE processing center about t 2:15 p.m.
There were Native-American traditions, passionate political activism, and a huge police presence.
Aurora police prepared for thousands of protesters, but that expectation on size was not met.
“We need immigrants. We want immigrants. We just want them to come in legally and have standards for immigration,” a protester said.
In the end, people on both sides seemed relieved that their First Amendment rights were protected and mass violence was averted.
On Friday, dozens of people staged a protest outside the home of the ICE facility’s warden. Aurora police arrested three men on charges of obstruction, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.
