Texas Teens Don Quinceañera Dresses To Protest Sanctuary City Ban

The group of 15 young women who descended on Austin’s capitol steps today wearing poofy, colorful quinceañera dresses weren’t there to celebrate a birthday. They were protesting Texas’ SB4 law which works to ban “sanctuary cities” in the state. The bill, which was signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in May, is scheduled to go into effect on September 1st.

The protest was organized by Jolt, a Texas based organization that supports rights for Latinos. They chose quinceañera clad teens to lead the event because quinceañeras are a representation of the deeply rooted Latino family bonds and culture that are vital to Texas.

“In Latino culture, quinceañeras are an important tradition to bring families together to unite communities, to unite culture,” 17 year old protester, Magdalena Juarez, told the Dallas News. “Today we do that to protest [Senate Bill 4].”

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Currently, sanctuary cities limit cooperation with the national government to enforce immigration law in order to avoid unnecessary deportation that will break up families. Supporters of sanctuary cities say that pushing law enforcement and government officials to report every case of illegal immigration will cause immigrants to be unable to report crimes, use health and social services, and enroll their children (often American citizens) in school. Sanctuary cities set up rules and laws that keep peace officers from probing into immigration status in many situations.

SB4 works to dismantle this protection by allowing local police in such cities to inquire about the immigration status of anyone they lawfully detain or question. This would include victims and witnesses of crimes. And officials who refuse to question or hold illegal immigrants for federal law enforcement could face civil penalties: $1,000 for a first offense and up to $25,500 for subsequent infractions. Opponents say that this law will turn routine traffic stops, such as a broken tail light, into an excuse to flag immigrants for deportation.

“It creates fear and distrust in our communities, and it will tear apart families,” Juarez, whose parents immigrated legally to Texas from Mexico, said. “But I am standing here today, along with these 14 strong women, to tell you that we will not let that happen.”

Along with their quinceañera gowns, the teens wore sashes with phrases like “Without Violence”, “Family Unity”, and “Democracy. Then, they spoke about why they were protesting SB4, and performed choreographed dance routines to songs that included “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)” and “Somos Más Americanos.” They also handed out gifts and paper flowers to representatives who oppose the new law, and fliers detailing how it would hurt their communities to those in support.

Rep. Rafael Anchia, a Dallas Democrat and chairman of the Mexican-American legislative caucus, met with the teenagers on the Capitol steps and made a statement about the peaceful demonstration.

“Quinceañeras are often times a right of passage for young ladies in our community who are passing into womanhood,” he said according to the Austin Stateman, “It’s important to note that they put their quinceañera outfits on today because as daughters of immigrants, they often have to become women earlier — they have to become women and go to work, they have to become women and help their parents.”

“Not only are they brave to be here and fight on behalf of their parents, but they are the future of this state and the future of this country,” Rep. Anchia continued.

The teens and organizers hope that the protest (which ties in the celebration of family with the opposition to a law that will damage families) will remind lawmakers that they will not take this development lying down. They plan to fight.

“Texas has become ground zero for the fight for the rights of immigrants and Latinos,” Jolt founder Cristina Tzintzun told NPR.”This last election we saw Mexicans and Latinos demonized and criminalized and really scapegoated, and so we want legislators to know and Trump to know that we won’t sit idly by while legislation of hate is passed. That our communities are going to organize and mobilize.”

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