Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Greeley on Saturday morning to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration actions of the past two weeks.
People arrived at the gazebo at Lincoln Park a little after 9:30 a.m. with signs in hand condemning the president’s plan for mass deportations and raids conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Close to 10 a.m., they marched to the Weld County Courthouse, where organizers spoke through a megaphone.
The protestors were mainly comprised of Hispanics and Latinos from Greeley and the surrounding areas.
The protest’s roots date back to Jan. 20, 2017, when Bob Stack founded the Courthouse Steps group to protest Trump’s inauguration. As word got out about his efforts, others joined him, meeting the first Saturday of each month all four years of Trump’s first term.
The group was dormant during the Biden administration, but with Trump back in office, so are Stack and his group.
“Now, looking at what’s happening, it’s time to come out,” he said.
Bowdie Hernandez, a Greeley resident, has been a part of the Courthouse Steps group since the beginning. Her appearance at Saturday’s protest was “personal,” she said.
Hernandez’s late father came from Mexico to the United States and earned his citizenship over 50 years ago. Their migrant family worked in the fields for years, so it’s been hard to take in what’s transpired over the past few weeks.
“A lot of anger and disappointment,” Hernandez said. “People are making the immigrants feel low about themselves.”
Hernandez was especially concerned about children potentially being taken from their schools by ICE agents. During his speech, Stack implored the audience to call the Greeley-Evans School District 6 administration to thank them for their latest resolution.
On Monday, the District 6 Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution to ensure all students receive a safe and free public school education no matter their immigration status.
Signs like these were carried by attendees at Saturday morning’s Courthouse Steps protest against President Donald Trump and his latest actions. Speakers spoke on the front steps of the Weld County Courthouse, 901 9th Ave., Greeley. (Zant Reyez/Staff Reporter)Among the speakers were KJ Burrola and Xochimilco Corona, who are members of the Voices of the Land, a Greeley nonprofit. The nonprofit helps cultivate and preserve Black, Indigenous and people of color’s stories, as well as to accomplish cultural and environmental survival.
Burrola and Corona announced the nonprofit sponsored a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient who was able to return home to see their family after several years. Burrola was adamant about not letting history repeat itself in Greeley when it comes to ICE raids.
Burrola, like Stack, mentioned the ICE raids that took place 18 years ago at the Greeley meatpacking plant now owned by JBS
“What we are not going to do is let that history repeat itself like families being separated again,” Burrola said. “If we truly want to honor the Ute and Cheyenne ancestors and people that still live here on these lands, we need to keep those families together.”
Bob Stack addresses the audience of the Courthouse Steps protest Saturday morning Feb. 1. Stack formed Courthouse Steps eight years ago when President Donald Trump was elected for the first time. (Zant Reyez/Staff Reporter)Eight years ago, the motto for the Courthouse Steps group was “Stand up, speak up and be visible.”
“We would have a particular issue, or a multitude of issues, depending on what (President) Trump had said during that month,” Stack said. “Our purpose was to make people aware.”
The motto for 2025 is “Stand up, speak up and take action.”
The group’s “action” will consist of putting together training programs on how to contact elected officials and training on how to manage potential stress from the daily news, Stack said. They’ll also help people register to vote.
“It’s more than a protest. It’s also an enabling group. We help others,” Stack said.
Since founding the group, Stack has amassed a mailing list of more than 100 people, even reaching across the country and overseas. Stack, who spent 31 years as an Air Force officer, believes Trump is “gutting our system” and taking away leadership and resources from qualified individuals with high positions in the federal government.
“Our major organizations in this country are being … decimated from the top down,” Stack said. “People who have no clue, no tally, are being put in those offices.”
The Courthouse Steps group plans to meet every first Saturday of the month for the next four years at the Weld Courthouse. Stack said everyone is welcome to join. The protests typically last from 10-10:45 a.m.
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